In the US is it still possible for a crime victim (or next of kin) to hire a lawyer and prosecute the offender in criminal court? I know in the old days most criminal cases were brought about this way but do any states still have laws on the books making this possible?
It’s definately possibl for the victim or family to sue in Civil Court for the damages caused by their criminal action. (Remember the victim’s families winning their civil lawsuit against OJ Simpson?)
But I don’t recall hearing of any such criminal prosecutions in the US. I think all criminal prosecution is done by the state, via the District Attny or County Attny. I seem to recall that this was written into our laws in colonial days, in reaction to cases where the British ‘Lords’ brought private criminal prosecutions after the local authorities declined to do so.
I think that in the UK, it is still possible for private individuals to bring a criminal prosecution case. But very rare.
In Tennessee a private criminal case (whatever that is) can only be brought by the District Attorney. I am aware of only two cases of criminal prosecution brought about by family pressuere on the D.A. It is usually heard as a presentment by the Crimianl Grand Jury. To answer the OP the answer is NO. I would expect a similar situation in other jurisdictions.
In Ontario, Canada, private criminal prosecution is possible. Extremely rare,but possible.
Ignore the naysayers.
Some states allow it, with various caveats.
According to Professor Brenner at the University of Dayton, many states also allow a private citizen to bypass the prosecutor to bring evidence before a grand jury, although they may not be able to actually prosecute the case.
I seem to vaguely recall a major case in New Mexico last century in which a rather entrenched district attorney was privately prosecuted and convicted. No details or cite on that one, just a hazy recollection.
A few states have specifically limited this. Ohio’s Supreme Court, in '98, said you can’t do it for misdemeanors, for example, and Michigan said you can’t prosecute crimes privately if you aren’t the victim.
I’m not a lawyer, so I could be misunderstanding some of this, but I’m pretty sure anyone giving a flat “no” is quite wrong. And should probably be ridiculed mercilessly, but it’s sort of late and I’m too tired to be snarky.