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What If A Defendant Wants To Reschedule A Hearing?
The prosecutor's office does not have the power to reschedule a hearing. Only
the court can grant a continuance of a hearing. The court cannot do this until
the defendant makes a formal written request, as discussed below.
A defendant who wants or needs to reschedule a hearing needs to make a formal
request to the court and provide a copy of that request to the prosecutor's
office. This request needs to be made in writing and be in the format required
by the Idaho Court Rules. To read the rule setting out the format requirements,
click on this link to
Idaho Criminal Rule
12. The prosecutor's office does not prepare or file a request with the
court on behalf of the defendant. This is solely the defendant's responsibility.
If a defendant contacts the prosecutor's office about continuing a hearing,
the prosecutor's office will listen to the reason the continuance is being
requested and give an opinion on whether the prosecution will object to or agree
to continue the hearing to another day. If the prosecutor states that the
prosecution does not object to rescheduling the hearing, that statement does not
guarantee the hearing will be continued and is not a substitute for making a
written request to the court and receiving an order from the court continuing
the hearing.
People often contact the clerk's office to request to reschedule a hearing.
The common practice of the court clerks in this situation is to refer the people
to the prosecutor's office. As indicated above, the prosecution does not have
the authority to continue a hearing. All the office staff can provide is some
direction to the defendant as to whether the prosecution will agree to or object
to the request to reschedule the hearing.
What If A Defendant Wants To Appear At Court Before The Date On The Citation?
Defendant's should contact the clerk's office about their citation before
coming to the courthouse to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to a citation.
Sometimes it can be a matter of a few days to as long as a couple of weeks
before the citation arrives at court from the officer. Therefore, if the
defendant comes to the courthouse they run the risk that there will be no
citation on file yet and the clerk will have no case to process the plea under.
The clerk will not take any action in such situation, but will likely inform the
defendant to check back later.
If a defendant wishes to pay the fine, they can pay the fine by mail. The
payment by mail constitutes an admission to the offense.
What If A Defendant Wants To Discuss The Case Before Their First Court
Appearance Or The Pretrial Conference?
Many defendants will contact the prosecutor's office immediately after they
receive a ticket or after their first court appearance to try to discuss the
case with the prosecutor. This is normally done in an attempt to avoid having to
appearing in court. In nearly all cases, practical considerations keep the
prosecution from resolving a case before a pretrial conference. These practical
considerations begin with the fact that the prosecutor's office cannot make a
decision on what to do with a case until all the information about the case has
been gathered. This usually takes until the week of the pretrial conference to
complete.
Two common misconception defendants have is that the prosecuting attorney's
office knows immediately when a citation has been issued and has access to the
information about the incident the day after the citation is issued. Law
enforcement agencies do not automatically provide a copy of a citation or a
police report to the prosecuting attorney's office. The prosecuting attorney's
office will not become aware that a citation has been issued until the court
provides notice to the prosecutor's office of a pretrial conference. This notice
does not arrive until after the defendant's first appearance in court.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the process of gathering information
about an infraction case does not even begin for the prosecutor's office until
after the defendant has made their first appearance in court and pled not guilty
to the offense. Without any information, the prosecutor handling the case is not
in a position to have a meaningful discussion with the defendant about the case.
Another consideration that makes it difficult for prosecutors to talk to
defendants in advance of the pretrial conferences is that the prosecutor and
secretary handling the infraction case load have anywhere from 30 to 40 cases
per week set for a pretrial conference. Combined with other work assignments, it
is not realistic to expect that the prosecutor and the secretary assigned to the
case have the time available to gather information about a case outside of the
normal protocol for getting the information.
Although exceptions are made for certain types of emergencies, defendants
seeking to discuss their case before the scheduled pretrial will normally be
told that they will need to wait until their scheduled pretrial conference to
talk to the prosecutor. As indicated above, this is because the prosecutor is
without the information necessary to make an informed decision until immediately
before the pretrial conference and because of how disruptive it is to the
office's work routine to accommodate such requests.
Why Won't The Prosecutor Talk Directly With A Defendant Who Is Represented By
An Attorney?
The Idaho Rules of
Professional Conduct prohibit an attorney from discussing a case with a
party who is represented by an attorney. It is an ethical violation which can
result in sanctions, even revocation of the prosecutor's license to practice, if
the prosecutor knowingly discusses the case with a defendant who is represented
by an attorney. The defendant's attorney can give consent for the prosecution to
talk to the defendant without the defense attorney present. This occurs in very
rare circumstances. The prosecuting attorney will usually decline to talk to the
defendant in such a situation unless the defense attorney's consent is in
writing.
Will A Conviction Affect A Defendant's Driver's License?
A defendant should read the criminal statute they have been cited with, and
associated statutes, to determine if the court is allowed or required to suspend
the driver's license of the defendant. Idaho's criminal statutes can be
researched by clicking on the following link to Idaho Statutes.
If a person is concerned about points being assessed against their driving
record, they can can look up the points schedule by clicking on this link to the Idaho
Transportation Department web site.
What If The Vehicle Was Not Owned By The Driver, But The Citation Is For
Failure To Insure or Register The Vehicle Or Some Equipment Violation Related To
The Vehicle?
Idaho law makes the driver of a vehicle legally responsible for making sure
that the vehicle is in full working order and that there is proof that the
vehicle is insured. Therefore, the fact that the car belongs to someone else is
not a legal excuse. Depending on the circumstances, the prosecutor's office may
be willing to negotiate a settlement with the driver that addresses the fact
that it was someone else's vehicle.
What If The Defendant Actually Had Insurance, But Did Not Have Proof Of It To
Show The Officer?
Sometimes the defendant has proof of insurance, but cannot locate it to show
the officer. In such circumstances the law allows the defendant to present proof
of the insurance to the clerk office, who then is authorized to dismiss the
citation. The defendant must show proof that the car was insured at the time the
citation was issued. The fact that insurance was obtained after the citation was
issued is not grounds for having the citation dismissed. However, the
prosecutor's office usually will take this into consideration during the
pretrial conference, but only if the defendant can provide proof that the car
was insured in a timely fashion after the issuance of the citation.
What If The Car Is Registered, But The Defendant Did Not Have Proof Of It To
Show The Officer?
Sometimes the defendant has proof that the car is registered, but cannot
locate it to show the officer. The fact that insurance was obtained after the
citation is not grounds for having the citation dismissed. However, the
prosecutor's office will usually take this into consideration during the
pretrial conference, but only if the defendant can provide proof that the car
was registered in a timely fashion after the citation was issued.
What If The Speedometer Was Broken?
The driver is legally responsible for making sure that all parts of the car
are in proper working order and that they are driving under the legal speed
limit. The fact that the speedometer is broken is not a legal excuse requiring
dismissal of a citation. The prosecutor's office will give consideration to the
fact that the speedometer has been fixed since the issuance of the citation, but
only if the defendant provides proof of the repair.
What If I Had Oversized Tires?
The driver is legally responsible for making sure that all parts of the car
are in proper working order and that they are driving under the legal speed
limit. The fact that the speedometer is off because the tires are larger than
those provided by the manufacturer of the vehicle is not a legal excuse
requiring dismissal of a citation. The prosecutor's office will give
consideration to the fact that the tires have been replaced with standard-sized
tires, but only if the defendant provides proof of the replacement.
What If The Officer Would Not Let The Driver See the Radar Read Out?
Many people complain that the officer would not allow them to go to the
officer's car and see the readout on the radar screen. This does not provide a
legal basis for dismissing the citation. Whether an officer allows a defendant
to exit their vehicle and, furthermore, approach the officer's vehicle is a
matter of the officer's department policy. For safety reasons, most departments
prohibit officers from allowing drivers to exit their vehicle. In any event,
except in rare circumstances, there will be no radar reading to show. The most
commonly used technique used by officers to identify that it was the defendant's
vehicle to which the radar reading applied is to watch to see if the screen
changes to a different reading once the defendant's vehicle passes the location
of the radar beam. If so, the officer can verify that the beam was picking up
the defendant's vehicle and not the vehicle in front of or behind the
defendant's vehicle. The consequence of this technique is that the radar reading
which pertained to the defendant's vehicle does not get locked in and no longer
appears on the radar screen by the time the officer initiates the traffic stop.
What If A Defendant Does Not Have The Funds To Pay The Fine On Time?
The court is allowed to enter into deferred payment agreements with
defendants to allow them to pay the fine in installments. To read the rules
relating to the court's ability to deal with a defendant's inability to pay
fines, click on this link to
Idaho Infraction Rule 9.
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