Beware of Prosecutors Seeking Profit

A spat in New York state over $613 million in settlement money from JPMorgan Chase & Co. raises a question much larger than local politics: Should law enforcement officials be allowed to do what they want with the money they extract from suspects and defendants?

The New York case is the latest skirmish in a long-running battle between Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Schneiderman claims sole discretion over the funds, which the settlement allows him to spend in part on avoiding “preventable foreclosures” and in part on expanding his department’s financial-crime-fighting efforts. Cuomo wants the money, part of a larger $13 billion nationwide mortgage-fraud settlement, to go through the state budget. This week, Schneiderman agreed to split the first $163 million installment with the state, which plans to use it for housing programs.