A reviewing court reviews allegations of prosecutorial error de novo, considering the prosecutor's conduct in the context of the entire proceeding. State v. Roundstone, 2011 MT 227, ¶ 13, 362 Mont. 74, 261 P.3d 1009.
We review a district court's denial of a motion to dismiss based on prosecutorial vindictiveness de novo. State v. Knowles, 2010 MT 186, ¶¶ 23, 25, 357 Mont. 272, 239 P.3d 129.
The principle of prosecutorial vindictiveness originates from the idea that it is unconstitutional for the State or its agent to penalize a person for exercising his or her legal rights. To punish a person because he has done what the law plainly allows him to do is a due process violation of the most basic sort. Retaliatory action on the part of the prosecutor for the exercise of procedural rights by an accused has been held to violate constitutional due process requirements. State v. Roundstone, 2011 MT 227, ¶ 37, 362 Mont. 74, 261 P.3d 1009.