[rossjudson]

Let's stop and contemplate what might have happened, had Brown been forced into submission by these prosecutors prior to this decision. Why do they leave bogus charges sitting out there until just before the trial? Leverage, of course.

If there isn't some sort of legal standard of fairness involved, there ought to be. The prosecution shouldn't be able to fabricate charges against a defendant for the purposes of gaining leverage in pre-trial negotiations. A court can and should take this kind of behavior into account and simply subtract the potential sentences of the "excess" charges away from whatever is left.

And sanction the prosecution for...well, something.