San Andreas Judicial Branch Major Superior Court Changes "EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW" |
Citizens of San Andreas,
As it stands, defendants are used to creating their case submission and then leaving the case for the Judicial Branch to handle. Typically that meant that their case would sit within our court system anywhere from 4 months to one case that took over a year to complete. Neither of which were satisfactory to defendants.
We worked hard with the help of bench trials to get the backlog down to a more manageable 30 cases. However, things took a turn when we saw an unprecedented amount of case submissions in one month. Leaving us at the staggering backlog you see today. All of this to say, SAJB has been working hard to brainstorm new ideas on how to move through cases quicker in order to accommodate the growing number of defendants.
In our continued efforts to streamline the judicial process and reduce unnecessary strain on attorneys and the court, the Judicial Branch has made the official decision to change the way the Superior Court System handles the average case.
Bench Trials: The New Standard
Effective immediately, bench trials will become the default trial format for criminal cases.
- Bench trials will now be classes as YY-BT-####.
- Defendants are now required to attend trial or obtain documentation (Notice of Appearance) from their attorney to allow their absence. If a defendant does not attend trial and does not have proper documentation, they may be liable for fines or charges depending on the circumstances.
- Defendants requesting a public defense attorney must appear in court.
- Bench trials will not set legal precedent.
- Bench trial time slots will be extended from 30 minutes to an hour.
- The prosecution will have 30 days to present evidence or file a motion for continuance. This may shorten based on backlog and availability of evidence.
- The defendant will submit their availability for scheduling after the prosecution submits evidence or the timeline expires.
- Based off of feedback, bench trial set-ups will change.
- Previously opening statements and the case-in-chief were delivered at the same time. From now on only the case-in-chief will be delivered at the start of a bench trial.
- The case-in-chief will now review each exhibit one by one with prosecution presenting their exhibit and defense being given the opportunity to cross examine.
- Any suppression will be addressed either in a pre-trial hearing or during the case-in-chief of either party.
- If a defense attorney is unavailable for the trial:
- Defendants may self-represent or plead the fifth and have the judge make a determination based solely on the submitted evidence.
- Private attorneys are encouraged to attend bench trials whenever they are scheduled as they can act as a fill-in attorney and still receive an attorney performance bonus.
- Defendants may reschedule, but availability of a defense attorney is not guaranteed.
- Defendants are encouraged to reach out through Attorney Inquiries for support.
Formal Criminal Trials: When and Why
A motion for a change in venue to a formal criminal trial can be filed if:
- The defendant requests it; or
- There is intent to establish legal precedent.
- ((In order to further RP. These will be on a case by case basis and will depend on the current 'Formal Criminal Trial' back log.))
These trials will follow a three-phase process:
- Discovery & Motions Phase
- Prosecution: 30 days to submit discovery or request a continuance.
- Defense: 7 days to review and submit motions.
- No written responses will be submitted between parties during this phase.
- The judge will then issue a scheduling request for a motions hearing.
- Motions Hearing
- Both parties will present and argue their motions live before the court.
- The judge will issue a preliminary verbal ruling as a working draft.
- Within 24–72 hours, the judge will post the official written ruling along with a trial scheduling request.
- Trial
- The trial will proceed with the traditional structure:
- Opening Statements
- Case-in-Chief
- Witness Questioning
- Closing Statements
- Written rulings from both the motions hearing and trial will be considered precedent-setting.
- The trial will proceed with the traditional structure:
Why These Changes?
We recognize that these changes may feel uncomfortable at first. However, they are designed with the following goals in mind:
- Reduce burnout, stress, and paperwork for attorneys.
- Make it easier for attorneys to manage a reasonable caseload.
- Ensure all cases are heard and resolved in a timely manner.
- Encourage quicker turnaround times, with a goal of ~30 days per case.
Associate Justice
Branch Administrator
San Andreas Judicial Branch
505-9925 — [email protected]
Public Relations Division
San Andreas Judicial Branch
Rockford Hills City Hall, Carcer Way,
Metro Los Santos, SA