Initial Appearance Pilot Project Presentation

Initial Appearance Pilot Project
STRAFFORD COUNTY
JUNE 2, 2014
CHESHIRE COUNTY
JULY 1, 2014
GOALS
 Prompt and fair resolution of cases
 Early sharing of information
 Early judicial attention to case resolution
Circuit Court – Current Process
Defendant Arrested
5-7 weeks later
Arraignment
10-20 days later
Probable Cause Hearing
10+ days later
Bound Over to Superior Court
Current Superior Court Process
Receive Bound Over
Do nothing until receive indictment (30 – 90 days)
then schedule arraignment 2+ weeks later
Arraignment
10 days later disco provided. 30-60 days later hold the
Dispositional Conference (plea offers made 2 weeks prior)
Receive FPT/JS dates, discuss plea/trial. 90+ days later
Final Pretrial/JS
Initial Appearance Pilot
Bound over received by Superior Court
2-4 weeks later (10 days before IA State provides disco,
def’s record, and written offer)
Initial Appearance
Talk about plea/plea track, waiver of indictment, disco,
multi-county charges, etc. If no plea, then 6-10 weeks later
Dispositional Conference
7 days prior exchange motion information. Mo deadline 7 days after conf.
Settlement discussion, if no plea set motions for hearing &
FPT/JS within 4-6 weeks
Final Pretrial
(NOTE: Arraignment and motions scheduled as appropriate)
Pilot Rules Miscellaneous
 Arraignments will still be scheduled after indictment.
 Motions will be scheduled as appropriate.
Information About Rules
 In Scope section, replaced rules are listed.
 Your copy – has in blue where each rule came from.
 Even if only one word in the current rule was
changed, the entire rest of the rule was made part of
the Pilot Rules.
Initial Appearance
Purpose: Make sure things are on track. What needs to
get done? Is this a plea track case? Can it plea today?
Set Dispositional Hearing.
 10 days before the IA, State provides discovery and a
written plea offer (Rules 6A and 7)
 Alibi Notice due at IA (Rule 6E(3))
 Defendant must appear at IA hearing (Rule 1)
 Cannot waive IA hearing. (Rule 1)
 State notifies court of other charges pending against
defendant. (Rule 4)
RULE 13
7 Days Before Dispositional Conference
 Use court form to let other side know which
notices/motions you intend to file.
Notice of Criminal Defenses (except Alibi), Notice of Prior
Sexual Activity, Notice of Extended Term, Motion for
Joinder or Severance, Motion to Suppress, Daubert Motion,
motions relating to admissibility of evidence that will take
significant court time.
 Must provide other side with supporting info (law
and facts) in writing
 Bring copy with you to conference – Don’t file with
Court!
Purpose of Dispositional Conference
 Explore settlement possibilities with a judge.
 If settlement is not likely, find out what motions
need to be filed/scheduled, set FPT and JS dates,
discuss what needs to be done for case to stay on
track for trial date set, discuss possible issues.
Settlement Conference
 May be set up after Dispositional Conference.
 Informal and voluntary.
 Settlement Judge
 Will not preside over trial,
 Will not make any decisions about the case,
 Will not discuss case with other judges, and
 Will not be involved with case after settlement conference
 Work best in certain types of situations.
 Protocols have been drafted and are available.
7 Days After Dispositional Conference
 If case did not settle, all motions/notices listed in
slide #9 must be filed. (Rule 12)
20 Days Before Final Pretrial
 State provides defendant with witness list,
summaries, statements, records, etc. (Rule 6F(1))
10 Days Before Final Pretrial
 Defense provides State with witness list, summaries
and statements. (Rule 6F(2))
 Defense provides State with all pretrial discovery
(books, reports, etc.) (Rule 6F(2))
 Motions in Limine deadline. (Rule 18)
 Notice of Use of Prior Convictions due. (Rule 16)
The Opt-Out Rule (Rule 21)
The court may at any time make any order that
is appropriate to the specific needs of any case. When
the court finds that application of these pilot rules
would not be feasible or would work an injustice, the
court may exempt the case from these rules or from
any one rule.
Timeline for Sample Case
 4/10
 5/16
 5/28
 6/2
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
Defendant arrested and bails out
Arraignment (Circuit Court)
Probable Cause Hearing, case bound over
Superior Court receives bound over
6/27
Initial Appearance
8/22
Dispositional Conference
Motions set for hearing in September
FPT and JS set for October
We Will Want Your Feedback
What is working? What isn’t?

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