At any initial appearance, the court commissioner must notify the defendant of the judge assigned to the trial of the action and, if defendant appears without counsel, advised of his/her right to counsel, and if appropriate, referred to the State Public Defender's Office. 

2.2 Initial Appearance/Arraignment (Non-Felony Matters)

(1) In misdemeanor, criminal traffic, traffic, and non-traffic forfeiture cases, the defendant will have an initial appearance and arraignment before the court commissioner.  If a defendant pleads not guilty, the matter will be given a date on the trial Court’s calendar for further proceedings that is within thirty (30) days following said plea.  If a defendant wishes to enter a guilty or no contest plea in a criminal matter, the court commissioner will schedule the case for a plea and sentencing hearing before the assigned judge within thirty (30) days.  If a defendant wishes to enter a guilty or no contest plea in a non-criminal matter, the court commissioner will immediately proceed to disposition.  

(2) A default judgment may be entered against a defendant in any non-criminal matter who fails to appear personally or by counsel at any scheduled proceeding.

2.3 Initial Appearance/Preliminary Examination/Arraignment (Felony Matters)

(1) Unless otherwise waived by the defendant on the record, all felony cases will be scheduled for a preliminary examination within ten (10) days of the initial appearance before a court commissioner if the defendant is in custody or within twenty (20) days of the initial appearance if the defendant is not in custody.  In any case, in the event of a waiver of time limits, the preliminary examination should be held within thirty (30) days of the initial appearance.  If a defendant appears without counsel, the matter of status of counsel must be addressed prior to the scheduling of any preliminary hearing.  This may be modified where good cause is demonstrated by either party. 

(2) If the defendant is bound over for trial at the conclusion of the preliminary examination, the state whenever possible will file the information, and arraignment shall occur at that time.  In all cases, the arraignment should be held within thirty (30) days of the preliminary examination.

(3) If an individual intends to waive his/her preliminary hearing, and a preliminary hearing waiver has been filed with the Court no less than two (2) business days in advance of the hearing, the defendant may appear for a waiver hearing by remote appearance. 

2.4 Motions Before Trial

(1) Unless otherwise ordered by the assigned judge, all motions must be filed with the Court in conformance with the statutes but, in any event no later than sixty (60) days after arraignment, and must be scheduled to be heard prior to trial.  Absent good cause, no motion will be scheduled for hearing prior to it having been filed in writing with the Court. 

(2) Absent Court approval, a movant’s brief must not exceed 25 pages, a responding brief must not exceed 25 pages, and a reply brief must not exceed 10 pages (excluding any caption, cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, and signature block).  The Court may disregard any briefs exceeding the permitted length, or ones that contain non-standard typeface or margins to avoid compliance with this rule.

2.5 Adjournment of a Hearing

Before requesting an adjournment of a hearing, the person seeking the adjournment must contact every other party to the case, or if represented, the party’s attorney, and determine if there is any objection to the request.  The motion or letter requesting the adjournment must inform the Court whether the other party(ies) (as well as the alleged victim(s), if any) join in or stipulate to the requested adjournment or if one or more parties object to the request.  Failure to comply with this rule may result in the Court summarily denying the request.

2.6 Jury Status Hearings

A jury status hearing will be held preceding the trial date for the purposes of accepting any change of plea and to determine the order and number of cases set for trial before the Court. Unless approved by the Court, the attorneys assigned for trial and the defendant must appear in person for the jury status.  Absent a motion to adjourn or other good cause, the parties must be prepared to enter a plea of guilty/no contest or proceed to trial. Absent good cause, any cases continued from the trial calendar will be rescheduled to a date no later than sixty (60) days from the date continued.

Rule 3: Trials

3.1 Adjournment

A request for an adjournment of a trial must be in writing and comply with Crim. L. R. 2.5, and must set forth specific reasons for the request. Cases that resolve or are adjourned after the final jury status but before a jury is selected may have costs assessed associated with the expense of having jurors report for service.

3.2 Conduct During Trial

Unless approved by the Court, only one person may conduct voir dire on behalf of a party, and only one person on behalf of a party may examine a particular witness, lodge objections related to a witness, or argue motions.  

3.3 Exhibits

(1) Mandatory/Voluntary eFilers.  Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, all proposed exhibits (other than documents used for rebuttal or impeachment) must be eFiled no later than the morning of trial via the File Exhibit link in the Circuit Court eFiling system.

(2) Paper Filers.  Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, all proposed exhibits (other than documents used for rebuttal or impeachment) must be available in hard copy form the morning of the trial, with additional copies for the opposing side and the Court.  

(3) Absent good cause, failure to file exhibits as specified above or in a court order, and the failure to provide copies of the proposed exhibits to the opposing party(ies) at or before the time filed with the Court may result in the proposed exhibit(s) not being admitted or considered by the Court.

(4) It is the responsibility of the parties to display exhibits using the Court’s audio/visual technology.  Court staff will not play any type of media or otherwise connect any technology to courtroom computers.  Please refer to our Court Technology AV Guide with information as to built-in presentation technology.   

(5) The Clerk of Circuit Court must maintain a complete and accurate electronic or digital copy of all evidence received at trial and, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the offering party is responsible for producing all exhibits in electronic form. 

3.4 Restricted Use of Electronic Devices

Electronic communication equipment, including, but not limited to cellular telephones, pagers, laptop computers, scanners and recording devices, may not be used by jurors in the courtroom or deliberation room without the specific approval of the judge.

Rule 4: Case Assignment

4.1 Bail Jumping Cases  

Rule 7: Restitution 

Prior to entry of a plea or proceeding to trial, the District Attorney and the defendant or his/her counsel must confer and engage in reasonable efforts to address and resolve any claim for restitution. If the defendant stipulates to the requested restitution, the Court may order the agreed sum to be paid by the defendant as part of a sentence or disposition.   If there is no stipulation because the defendant contests some or all of the requested restitution, the Court will set the matter for a restitution hearing within sixty (60) days. Where appropriate, the parties should file partial stipulations on matters for which there is no dispute in order to eliminate the potential need for the alleged victim’s appearance at the restitution hearing and to preserve judicial resources.