The court noted that the purpose of a bill of particulars was to inform the defendant of the nature of the charges and the evidence against him, allowing the defendant to prepare a defense, and to prevent further prosecution for the same offense. The defendant argued that the district court should have required the State to file a bill of particulars. In the end, the jury found the defendant guilty of both counts. The trial court denied both and a jury trial began eight months later. On July 23, 2002, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss, or if that did not work, for a bill of particulars. Eventually, the defendant was found and charged with one count of criminal threat, one count of reckless driving, and one count of following too closely. The driver then began honking her horn and the defendant walked back to his semi-truck and drove away. He then pulled on her door handle, yelled obscenities at her, hit her car window, and threatened her life. After both drivers were stopped, the defendant got out of his semi-truck and approached the driver. After speeding to get around the driver, the defendant abruptly stopped, causing the driver to slam on her brakes. When the driver got off an exit, the defendant sped up and drove around the driver, nearly hitting her. On May 1, 2002, the defendant, a semi-truck driver, flashed his lights, honked his horn, and followed closely behind a driver for the span of eight miles through a construction zone. In addition, this information allows the defendant to prepare a defense and to prevent future prosecution for the same offense. According to the court, a bill of particulars serves to inform the defendant of the nature of the charges and the evidence against him or her. This case explores the question of what is a bill of particulars. The following case answers the question above. Lawyers and other courts then can rely on that ruling when they have a similar issue in their case. When the court decides a certain meeting to the law it essentially answers a legal question. The legislature can’t anticipate every possible fact scenario when they pass a law, so it lay to the courts to interpret the law and give guidance to what it means. Sometimes the black letter law passed by the legislature is unclear. Frequently Asked Criminal Defense Questions.A Step by Step Guide to a Criminal Case.Frequently Asked Personal Injury Questions.A Step by Step Guide to a Personal Injury Case.If you are charged with a crime, contact Scaringi Law, at 7, so an experienced criminal defense attorney can review your case and determine if any of the above motions or deadlines apply in your case. An omnibus pretrial motion can take many different forms including a motion to suppress evidence if the defense is arguing that police unlawfully seized evidence, detained a person, searched a property, or otherwise acted inconsistently with established federal or state constitutional jurisprudence. Most district attorneys will not require a defendant to file a motion to compel them to turn over the discovery – they will do so either automatically after formal arraignment or after having received an informal request by letter or otherwise from the defense. Discovery is any evidence the prosecution has in its possession and intends to use against the defendant should the case proceed to trial. At formal arraignment, defendants are advised that they have seven days within which to request a Bill of Particulars, 14 days within which to file a motion compelling the prosecution to turn over discovery, and 30 days within which to file and serve an omnibus pretrial motion.Ī Bill of Particulars is a rarely-used mechanism used by the defense to force the prosecution to provide more details about what criminal activity they allege occurred whether it be specific dates, times, locations, or otherwise. It is true that the great majority of cases do not reach their final resolution at this stage, but accused individuals are advised of important rights and deadlines that apply in all criminal cases. Formal arraignment may seem like a relatively inconsequential stage in the life of a criminal case, but it is important to understand that it is not.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |