Hay v. Bright

¶1Appellant Samuel Hay III, a private citizen, filed a petition for mandamus relief that would compel appellee Fredric Bright, the District Attorney of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, to prosecute Tommy *155Craig for alleged perjury committed during a bond validation hearing. The superior court denied appellant’s mandamus petition, and he appeals.

¶2This Court has repeatedly held that:

A citizen does not have a judicially cognizable interest in the prosecution or nonprosecution of another and, hence, lacks standing to contest the prosecuting authority’s policies when the citizen is neither prosecuted nor threatened with prosecution.*

¶3It follows that appellant lacked standing to seek mandamus relief that would compel appellee to prosecute Craig. Therefore, the trial court properly denied appellant’s petition.

¶4Judgment affirmed.