Mr. Ryan said prosecutors were waiting out of a sense of caution and responsibility.

The statement suggests, legal scholars said, that federal prosecutors will wait to gauge the practical impact of the decision before asking Congress to act.

Why did the prosecutor wait until the eve of trial to raise this issue?

Every prosecutor, in life or on the page, waits eagerly for the Big One to come along.

"The prosecutors are waiting for money," Siamoo said of her case.

They questioned why prosecutors could not wait until after the March 31 deadline when most annual reports are filed.

He questioned why prosecutors had waited since 2001 to arrest him if they regarded him as dangerous.

And precedent suggests that federal prosecutors will wait for the outcome of the state proceedings before deciding whether to pursue civil rights charges.

Five suspects were set free because overworked prosecutors waited too long to bring their cases to trial, according to court records.

Mr. Fedorko said it bothered him that the prosecutors could not wait five months to buy the book for $25.