But the implication that there is something wrong with basing prosecution decisions on the available evidence is both new and alarming.
A counterargument came from Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor, writing in the legal blog, the Volkh Conspiracy, that federal prosecutors had based their prosecution on "a fair reading of the law".
"This is because there is insufficient admissible evidence upon which to base a prosecution," said the report.
Yesterday Mr Yates said those allegations were not strong enough to base a prosecution on, but that the new evidence could be.
Ireland has arrested the alleged leader of the Real I.R.A., the splinter group that blew up the market center of Omagh three years ago, and Irish and British officials said this week that they planned to base their prosecution on the testimony of an American sympathizer turned informer.
But he told the court he was basing his prosecution on the legal argument that Mr. Green had made no effort to hide his wedded relations and that "a solemnized marriage otherwise valid is not rendered invalid by failure to meet licensing requirements".
The public prosecutor, Walter Julián Rivas, is basing his prosecution on the argument that though Ms. Berenson may not have been a member of the Túpac Amaru, she is guilty of terrorism and offenses against public order because she collaborated with the group, known by its Spanish acronym, MRTA.
A father-of-two, he added that his life was "now all about moving on". "My objective throughout the case was to ensure that other cyclists who may be severely injured in collisions in the future have a legal precedent upon which to base prosecutions against dangerous drivers," he said.
Nor is there any suggestion that the government targeted Mr. Swartz for prosecution based on personal or political reasons, or as part of a vendetta against political foes, as in the horrendously unfair federal prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
But the court left open the possibility of prosecution based on kickbacks and bribery.
The court left open, however, the possibility of prosecution based on kickbacks and bribery.
