Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Tampa Criminal Attorneys
Profession: Tampa Defense Attorneys

Category: Criminal Law

As a criminal trial lawyer you learn very quickly that certain pretrial rulings from the Court can have a dramatic impact on a jury's ultimate decision. As a public defender I was forced because of time constraints (over burdened with files) to file motions-in-limine (this is a motion directed at preventing the state attorney from introducing or mentioning evidence, which you believe, is inadmissible at trial) shortly before trial. I hated it. A ruling from the court on pivotal evidentiary issues long before trial is imperative to making an informed decision about taking the case to trial or not. Certainly there are evidentiary issues that can arise in such a way that force you to make this motion last minute. There may also be strategic reasons for waiting to file a motion-in-limine shortly before trial. However, filing these motions early on in the litigation can be very beneficial to the lawyer and his/her client.

I was on the phone recently with a much respected, well-known criminal attorney who had been practicing for a long time. His client wanted a second opinion about his case and he encouraged him to talk to me. The issue arose as to whether a crime he pled guilty to previously would be admissible at the trial on his new charge. This particular case involved sexual allegations, and the sanctions he would receive at sentencing were severe if he went to trial and lost. I suggested filing the Motion in limine and have the judge decide the issue as soon as possible. When a jury hears evidence of prior bad acts or crimes, a defendant's case can go from very winnable to "maybe the State's offer isn't so bad after all". The client's lawyer told me, "I usually file those types of motions right before trial". I don't mean to second guess another lawyer. In his defense, he had been dealing with the case much longer than I had, and maybe had other reasons for waiting to file the motion. My only point is that deciding an issue so pivotal to the outcome long before trial could save the defense attorney from meetings with the client speculating about whether the judge will allow the evidence in right before trial. It also helps the defense attorney in that he knows what he or she is up against long before he starts the jury selection. It makes the judge happy in that a major decision (that involves a lot of argument by the lawyers, and consideration on her part) is decided long before trial. Nothing upsets a judge more than being forced to make a decision "on the fly" that could result in an appeal one way or the other. After practicing law for over 15 years I can tell you that even the most state-oriented judge is a hell of a lot more interested in being right on the law than being reversed. Having this hearing long before the trial gives the judge an opportunity to give the motion all of his/her consideration without having to be concerned about how much longer the jury panel is going to be waiting outside while he/she decides the motion. This may seem like obvious logic to many but filing these motions on the eve of trial is more the norm than the exception. To find out more link to Tampa Criminal Attorney or call us at 813-228-7095.