What is a Motion Hearing?
At a motion hearing, a lawyer can make a request to the judge for some form of relief, or a request for some type of ruling. What happens at a motion hearing is crucially important, but a motion hearing is a different process from the trial itself. During a motion hearing, the judge is not looking for the same kind of proof that a jury would consider in a trial.
A motion hearing differs from a trial in that it may take place before any evidence is put forth at trial. In many cases, a motion hearing is held in front of a judge outside the presence of a jury. In a motion hearing, the judge makes a determination regarding the issue in question (e.g. , whether the defendant has to participate in some type of evaluation of competency; whether the judge should throw out a confession made by the defendant; whether the case should be dismissed; and so on).
A motion hearing is usually requested as early as possible in a criminal case. An early motions hearing gives a defendant the chance to resolve matters of law before the trial even starts.
A motion hearing is usually not fair the way that a trial is fair, because during a motion hearing, the judge is not hearing all of the evidence in the same way the judge would hear evidence during a trial. The judge can only rule in accordance with the legal issues at hand, and the judge cannot parse through all of the evidence pieces to understand the whole picture.
A motion hearing may take place before a trial even begins, and it therefore plays a key role for the defense. In many cases, the judge makes a determination about whether the defendant has to go to trial based on early motion hearings, regardless of whether the defendant would be acquitted during a trial.
Different Types of Motions at Criminal Trials
Understanding Motion Hearings in Criminal Court
There are lots of different motions that can be filed in a criminal court. Generally, a good criminal defense attorney in Worcester will file a motion to suppress evidence obtained through an illegal search and seizure. For example, at around 3:00am you are leaving a friend’s house and walking home or getting into an uber to catch a ride home, and a police officer sees you and a friend walking and decides to check you for outstanding warrants. When the police officer searches your belongings they find some drugs. If the police officer did not have a reasonable suspicion to stop and search you than the drugs should be suppressed. The drugs would be excluded as evidence at trial. Motion to suppress is a complicated legal issue, and often requires a hearing, known as a "Franks hearing" during which the officer testifies as to why they had reasonable suspicion or probable cause to search you.
Another motion that might be filed is motion to dismiss. A motion to dismiss is just like it sounds – it asks the court to dismiss the charges. For example, if the warrant for your arrest in issued after the statute of limitations expired for a charge, than a motion to dismiss may be appropriate.
A motion for discovery is also common in a criminal case. This type of motion is a request by a defendant to receive all of the evidence that the district attorney intends to rely on in court, and also all other evidence gathered by the district attorney that is material to the defendant’s guilt or innocence. This includes police reports, witness statements, and physical evidence such as fingerprints or photographs.
What Happens at a Motion Hearing?
The process of a motion hearing typically follows a particular sequence of steps, during which different parties are involved and each party has a different role. The particular steps of a motion hearing will vary from court to court, and the practices of judges and magistrates may differ as well. The following is an outline of the process that typically applies:
- One party files a motion with the court and serves a copy on the other party. The initiating party must also send a notice of motion hearing to the other party, to give the other party notice of the upcoming hearing.
- The parties conduct discovery related to the motion. Motions often involve the gathering of evidence and/or facts related to the motion.
- The parties may file briefs in support of their positions. A brief is an outline of the legal argument made by a party based on the evidence before the court.
- If the parties reach an agreement, they can submit an entry reflecting that settlement and bypass the need for a hearing.
- The court conducts a motion hearing. At the hearing, the parties make legal arguments and/or present evidence in support of their positions.
- The court makes a ruling and journalizes the order. The court journalizes (writes down) its decision in a document called a journal entry or order.
Significance of Motion Hearings
Motion hearings play a crucial role in criminal proceedings. These hearings are an opportunity for a defendant to raise essential legal arguments early in their cases, and often before a trial begins. In some cases, arguments raised in motion may be enough to lead to a favorable outcome for a defendant. In particular , pretrial motions are especially important because they can help protect the constitutional rights of a defendant. Many criminal defendants have had their charges dropped or dismissed altogether simply by showing that their rights were violated in the events that led to their criminal charges. Motions to suppress evidence are among the most common types of motions submitted in criminal cases, involving challenges to the way in which police officers collected evidence in violation of search and seizure laws. Challenging the way in which evidence was secured is often a priority for criminal defendants, as it is often effective in weakening the prosecution’s case.
Preparing for a Motion Hearing
Preparing for a motion hearing requires that defendants and their attorneys have a firm grasp on the legal arguments that will be made in support of the motion. In addition to understanding the law that supports the motion, it is also important to make sure that all evidence can be presented to support the motion.
Gathering Evidence
Evidence can be any item that helps prove your case such as documents you have reviewed of police reports. Be sure you have this information available when you plan to file a motion or at least a way to reasonably access it to review prior to the hearing to be prepared.
Consult with Legal Counsel
Consult with your attorney in advance of the motion hearing. He or she should be familiar with the legal arguments and be able to prepare you for any examination and cross examination. Be sure to ask any questions you have about how the lawyer will address any areas of potential concern you have in advance of the hearing so you are adequately prepared and relaxed as best as possible.
Understanding Legal Arguments
You need to know the law that affects your motion and understand exactly what the prosecution and/or courts will argue in response to your motion. Your attorney may be able to provide some insight into what he or she feels the government will assert in response and will likely have a good idea of how the judge will likely rule on the motion once arguments on both sides have been heard.
Possible Outcomes of Motion Hearings
Motion hearings are not random and aimless "pre-trial" meetings. On the contrary, a motion hearing always involves a specific "motion" that has been prepared by one of the attorneys (or both attorneys jointly). When the Court conducts a motion hearing, the Judge will either hear argument and consider witness testimony from both attorneys and determine whether the relief requested in the motion, can be granted or not. Or, the Court may defer the ruling on the motion to another time and schedule the submission of briefs by both attorneys to the Court.
One of the most common outcomes from a motion hearing is the Judge will grant or deny the motion. This can change the future course of the trial. For example: (a) If Defendant’s attorney files a motion to suppress evidence in the case (like DNA or certain statements made by the Defendant), and the Judge grants the motion to suppress, the important or sensitive evidence will not be admissible at trial, the Judge deems it to be tainted and unduly prejudicial because it was obtained illegally or it is not reliable enough for use in court . (b) If the Court denies the motion to suppress, the DNA evidence will be admissible at trial. (c) If the Court is unsure whether to grant the motion to suppress or not (like maybe there is only 2% human DNA in the sample), the Judge may defer ruling on the motion to suppress until the trial prosecutor has introduced the DNA evidence, and then the Judge will rule on the motion to suppress.
Another outcome could be that the Judge decides the Defendant cannot represent himself at trial (for many different reasons). For example, if the Judge believes the Defendant cannot competently represent himself, or if the Judge believes the Defendant will disrupt court proceedings if he represents himself, the Judge will appoint an "Attorneys at Trial" for the Defendant, or an "Attorney at Trial" in addition to advisory counsel, or even take certain aspects away from Defendant’s self-representation.
There are many possible outcomes to a motion hearing. It may turn into a one-time hearing, or it could be one of many hearings. It could turn into a plea hearing where Defendant changes his mind from pleading "not guilty" to "guilty."