VINDICTIVE PROSECUTION: Vindictive prosecution occurs when the prosecution seeks to punish the defendant for successfully exercising his constitutional or statutory rights. Review of factual findings on prosecutorial vindictiveness: clear error. United States v. Perez, 79 F.3d 79, 81-82 (7th Cir. 1996).

To prove vindictiveness on the part of the government for its decision to seek an indictment, a defendant must present objective evidence showing genuine prosecutorial vindictiveness. This showing can be made by showing that the decision to prosecute was not based on the usual determinative factors. U.S. v. Spears, 159 F.3d 1081, 1086 (7th Cir. 1998).