law as a violation of the defendant's due process rights. However, in Kampfer the court distinguished, in dicta, private prosecutions where there is an "underlying civil cause of action" in relation to the events which gave rise to the prosecution. North Carolina Private prosecutors were used in North Carolina as late as 1975. The court ruled in State v. Best in 1974 that an elected prosecutor must be in charge of all prosecutions. A private citizen may go before a magistrate to request that criminal process be issued, but any such charges are prosecuted by the State. Ohio Ohio state law allows private citizens to file an affidavit to support criminal charges. However, the actual prosecution is limited to the state. Only prosecutors can present a criminal case to a grand jury. State law was further amended in 2006 to bar judges from issuing arrest warrants in private prosecution cases. Pennsylvania Private prosecutions in Pennsylvania require approval from a state prosecutor. Rhode Island In 2001, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled in Diane S. Cronan ex rel. State v. John J. Cronan that a private citizen could file criminal complaints for misdemeanors. In order to do so under R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-10-12, a judge of the district court or superior court must choose to place the criminal complaint on file. However, prosecution of felonies remains limited to the state. Private prosecutors also cannot seek penalties of greater than one year of incarceration or a fine of greater than $1,000. South Carolina The right was removed from South Carolina law in the nineteenth century. However, private citizens may still initiate a criminal case by filing a request with a magistrate, although magistrates can issue only a summons in response to private criminal complaints. Wisconsin Private prosecutions in Wisconsin were outlawed following the decision of Biemel v. State in 1855. In 1890, the court ruled that a private attorney can assist in a prosecution as long as there is no conflict of interest. Controversy Bruce L. Benson's To Serve and Protect lauds the role of private prosecutors, often employed by prosecution associations, in serving the needs of crime victims in England. There have been calls for restoring the practice of private prosecution, especially in cases of official misconduct, where judges, public prosecutors, and the police act in concert to violate the law. Some libertarian theorists hold that public prosecutors should not