Rolando Otero v. United States Attorney General, State of Florida, Richard Gerstein

Rolando Otero filed a complaint seeking the issuance of a writ of mandamus to compel defendants to investigate and prosecute a former Florida State Attorney. The district court properly dismissed the complaint with prejudice for two reasons.

First, a private citizen has no judicially cognizable interest in the prosecution or non-prosecution of another. Linda R.S. v. Richard D., 410 U.S. 614, 619, 93 S.Ct. 1146, 1149, 35 L.Ed.2d 536 (1973).

Second, prosecutorial discretion may not be controlled by a writ of mandamus. Powell v. Katzenbach, 359 F.2d 234 (D.C.Cir.1965), cer t. denied, 384 U.S. 906,…