motion issues

[minnproper]

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

I am fighting a speeding ticket that was wrongly issued. I have sent an informal request for discovery to the prosecution, which was only partially fulfilled. The prosecutor stated that he would not give me any more information without an order from the court. So I wrote up a motion to compel discovery and sent it to the judge, the court, and copied the prosecutor.

Monday is my trial and I have not received any information, or a hearing regarding my motion. I did not suggest a date for the hearing in my motion, is that something I need to be concerned with? or do I have good grounds for a dismissal for failure to produce discovery? Also, my trial is exactly 60 days after I submitted my "not guilty" plea (60 is the limit on minnesota's fair and speedy trial rule).

 

[The Occultist]

How long ago was the formal motion filed?

If it was in a timely manner, then yes, I believe that should be sufficient for you to move for dismissal.

 

[minnproper]

I filed the formal motion immediately after I received the notice from the prosecutor that he would not give me any more information. It was filed on the 18th of December, and My trial is tomorrow the 7th of january. So they had 20 days to respond.

 

[Sureavolution]

Motions

The best thing to do in this situation is to request a continuence. Generaly most motions have up to 30 days for it to be complied with or for the other party to file an objection.
Time to comply can vary from state to state and some motions have much shorter time periods to respond to. With the motion being filed 20 days before the hearing the required time to comply with the motion is most likely past the actual hearing.
Hopefully the judge will be reasonable in dealing with the situation.

 

[minnproper]

Well, today I went into what I thought was my trial...but received a call from the court stating that it would be a hearing on my motion, which was fine. I was actually able to argue and win 7 of the 8-points of discovery in my motion, even with strong opposition from the prosecutor.

One thing that did bother me was when the trial date was decided I said that I do not wish to waive my right to a "fair and speedy" trial. The judge said that feb. 25 would be within 60 days from today's hearing. To which I asked, "isn't it 60 days from my plea of 'not guilty'?". He replied that, "that only applies if I request a trial in my "not guilty" plea.

Now, I did not specifically request a speedy trial. But I DID request a trial in my "not guilty" plea. Wouldn't that imply that it has to be speedy?

Here is my actual not guilty plea's wording:

I would like to enter my plea of “Not Guilty” and request a trial in response to citation number XXXXXX issued on XXXXXXX. A copy of the citation is attached. All future correspondences can be sent to me at the above address. If necessary I may also be reached via phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

 

[Sureavolution]

Motion Issues

The reason it is taking longer is that all pre-trial motions have to be addressed before the actual trial. It is the main reason some trials especially civil ones can take years to actually happen. Just be thankful that the majority of your motion was accepted. Some courts would have just went on without considering your motion.