Need a Criminal Lawyer?
Here are a list of court and pretrial motions below. A law motion is a request for a judge to make a ruling with regard to a legal issue in a case. A motion can be made in writing or orally and can be for anything from dismissing charges to postponing a preliminary hearing.
Pretrial Motions :
Here are some examples of pretrial motions:
- Motion for a Continuance (postponing a preliminary hearing)
- Motion to Modify or Reduce Bail (change in bail status or reducing bail)
- Motion to Dismiss Complaint (asking to dismiss an improper complaint)
- Motion to Reduce Charges (if evidence shows a lesser crime asking that charges be reduced)
- Motion for Bill of Particulars (learn the basis for the formal charge)
- Motions for Change of Venue (defense lawyer asked to move case to different location)
- Motion for Discovery (find out information in the prosecutors’ files if necessary)
- Motion to Strike a Prior Conviction (defense challenges prior conviction impact on current charges)
- Motion to Preserve Evidence (making sure prosecutors keep evidence safe until defense runs its own tests)
- Motion to Disclose Identity of an Informant (defense finds out if there are paid informants who benefit financially or in exchange for reduced charges)
- Motion to Examine Police Personnel File (defense finds out if police officer has ahistory of wrongdoing)
Motion to Suppress Evidence (defense makes sure evidence obtained improperly is excluded)
- Motion for a Speedy Trial (defense can ask for this motion if prosecutor keeps postponing trial)
We hope you find this pretrial and court motion information helpful.
