---
# System prepended metadata

title: Rules of Criminal Procedure

---

---
title: Rules of Criminal Procedure
robots: noindex, nofollow
---

# Rules of Criminal Procedure
These Rules should be cited as the Mayfl. R. Crim. P. #(#)(Letter/Number). For example, Mayfl. R. Crim. P. 1(1)(1) would properly cite the first clause of the first subsection under Rule 1.
### RULE 1 - ARREST AND SEARCH WARRANTS
1. **APPLICATION FOR ARREST AND SEARCH WARRANT**
    1. Law enforcement officers may submit an application for arrest or search warrants in accordance with the constitution, law, court and department rules. Arrest warrants may only be applied for during cases in which exigent circumstances exist and the person has left the immediate presence of law enforcement officers [LTAA] who have probable cause.
    2. Judges may order a law enforcement officer to detain and bring before him any criminal defendant who fails to appear to proceedings [in discord], and release him once he appears to the proceedings.
    3. Search and Seizure warrants shall only be issued upon valid application of probable cause, and that the scope of such searches shall be limited to the probable cause that the item be within such particularized scope.
2. **EXECUTION OF;**
    1. Upon the completion of any arrest or search warrants, law enforcement officers shall provide notice to the issuing judge within a reasonable period.
### RULE 2 - INFORMATION AND SERVICE
1. **"INFORMATION"** - An "Information" is a written statement filed and presented in behalf of the State by the state or county attorney, charging the defendant with an offense which may by law be so prosecuted.
2. **REQUISITES OF AN INFORMATION** - An information is sufficient if it has the following requisites:
    1. It shall commence "In the name and by authority of the State of Mayflower" or "In the name and by authority of the People of New Haven County" if prosecuted by a state or county attorney respectively.
    2. That it appear to have been presented by the proper officer;
    3. That it contain the name of the accused, or state that his name is unknown and give a reasonably accurate description of him;
    4. That the time mentioned be some date anterior to the filing of the information, and that the offense does not appear to be barred by limitation;
    5. That the offense be set forth in plain and intelligible words;
    6. Each offense must be typed and displayed in its own count followed by a description of the offense. No information entered into the court record shall contain surplusage.
    7. Each count of offense shall have the type listed (misdemeanor or felony) and the dates of occurrence.
    8. It must be signed by the state or county attorney, officially.
3. **INFORMATION BASED UPON COMPLAINT** - No information shall be presented until affidavit has been made by some credible person charging the defendant with an offense. The affidavit shall be filed with the information. It may be sworn to before the state or county attorneys who, for that purpose, shall have power to administer the oath, or it may be made before any officer authorized by law to administer oaths. No judge nor clerk shall summon a defendant until probable cause is met. Should a judge determine that probable cause exist to summon the defendant, a summons should be issued commanding their presence.
4. **IN FELONY** - In every case of felony, the presiding judge where an information has been presented, and probable cause has been established, shall deliver such copy to a Sheriff's Deputy, together with a writ directed to such Deputy, commanding him forthwith to deliver such certified copy to the accused.
5. **IN MISDEMEANOR** - In misdemeanors, the clerk shall deliver a copy of the information to the accused or the accused's counsel at the earliest possible time before trial.
6. **APPEAL BASED ON CONTENTS OF COMPLAINT** - No conviction shall be overturned by an appellate court based off the contents of an information if the defendant did not first file a motion to set aside an information due to its lack thereof or errs.
### RULE 3 - SUBPOENA AND ATTACHMENT
1. **ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS**
    1. A subpoena may summon one or more persons to appear:
        1. before a court to testify in a criminal action at a specified term of the court or on a specified day; or
        2. on a specified day:
            1. before an examining court; or 
            2. in any other proceeding in which the person's testimony may be required in accordance with this code.
    2. The person named in the subpoena to summon the person whose appearance is sought must be:
        1. a peace officer; or
        2. an individual, at the time the subpoena is issued, not a participant in the proceeding for which the appearance is sought.
    3. A person who is not a peace officer may not be compelled to accept the duty to execute a subpoena, but if he agrees in writing to accept that duty and neglects or refuses to serve or return the subpoena, he may be punished with contempt of court.
    4. A court or clerk issuing a subpoena shall sign the subpoena and indicate on it the date it was issued, but the subpoena need not be under seal.
    5. The court may order a witness to produce any document, video, data, or their own person to render testimony upon motion of a party concern in the proceedings or sua sponte.
    6. All subpoenas issued must be issued sixteen (16) hours in advance of appearance.
2. **SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM** - If a witness have in his possession any instrument of writing or other thing desired as evidence, the subpoena may specify such evidence and direct that the witness bring the same with him and produce it in court.
### RULE 4 - ARRAIGNMENT
1. **ARRAIGNMENT** - In all felony cases, and all misdemeanor cases punishable by imprisonment, there shall be an arraignment.
2. **WAIVER OF ARRAIGNMENT** - An attorney representing a defendant may present a waiver of arraignment, and the clerk of the court may not require the presence of the defendant as a condition of accepting the waiver.
3. **PURPOSE OF ARRAIGNMENT** - An arraignment takes place for the purpose of fixing his identity and hearing his plea.
4. **PLEA OF NOT GUILTY ENTERED** - If the defendant answers that he is not guilty, such plea shall be entered upon the minutes of the court; if he refuses to answer, the plea of not guilty shall in like manner be entered. A plea of not guilty shall be automatically entered on the defendant's behalf forty-eight hours after their summons.
5. **PLEA OF GUILTY**
    1. Prior to accepting a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere, the court shall admonish the defendant of:
        1. the range of the punishment attached to the offense;
        2. the fact that the recommendation of the prosecuting attorney as to punishment is not binding on the court. Provided that the court shall inquire as to the existence of a plea bargain agreement between the government and the defendant and, if an agreement exists, the court shall inform the defendant whether it will follow or reject the agreement in open court and before any finding on the plea. Should the court reject the agreement, the defendant shall be permitted to withdraw the defendant's plea of guilty or nolo contendere;
        3. the fact that if the punishment assessed does not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant and the defendant's attorney, the trial court must give its permission to the defendant before the defendant may prosecute an appeal on any matter in the case except for those matters raised by written motions filed prior to trial.
    2. No plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere shall be accepted by the court unless it appears that the defendant is mentally competent and the plea is free and voluntary.
    3. In admonishing the defendant as herein provided, substantial compliance by the court is sufficient, unless the defendant affirmatively shows that he was not aware of the consequences of his plea and that he was misled or harmed by the admonishment of the court.
    4. The court may make the admonitions required by this article either orally or in writing. If the court makes the admonitions in writing, it must receive a statement signed by the defendant and the defendant's attorney that the defendant understands the admonitions and is aware of the consequences of the plea. If the defendant is unable or refuses to sign the statement, the court shall make the admonitions orally.
    5. The court shall make the admonition both orally and in writing. The court must receive a statement, written or orally, signed or stated orally by the defendant and the defendant's attorney that the defendant understands the admonition and is aware of the consequences of the plea. If the defendant is unable or refuses to sign the statement, the court shall make a record of that fact.
### RULE 5 - PLEADING IN CRIMINAL ACTIONS
1. **DEFENDANT'S PLEADINGS** - The pleadings and motions of the defendant shall be:
    1. A motion to set aside an information for some matter of form or substance;
    2. A plea of guilty;
    3. A plea of not guilty;
    4. A plea of nolo contendere, the legal effect of which shall be the same as that of a plea of guilty, except that such plea may not be used against the defendant as an admission in any civil suit based upon or growing out of the act upon which the criminal prosecution is based;
    5. Any other motions or pleadings that are by law permitted to be filed.
2. **DEFENDANT'S SPECIAL PLEA** - A defendant's only special plea is that he has already been prosecuted for the same or a different offense arising out of the same criminal episode that was or should have been consolidated into one trial, and that the former prosecution:
    1. resulted in acquittal;
    2. resulted in conviction;
    3. was improperly terminated; or
    4. was terminated by a final order or judgment for the defendant that has not been reversed, set aside, or vacated and that necessarily required a determination inconsistent with a fact that must be established to secure conviction in the subsequent prosecution.
### RULE 6 - MOTIONS
1. **PRE-TRIAL** - The court may set any criminal case for a pre-trial hearing before it is set for trial upon its merits, and direct the defendant and his attorney, if any of record, and the government's attorney, to appear before the court at the time and place stated in the court's order for a conference and hearing. The defendant must be present at the arraignment, and his presence is required during any pre-trial proceeding. The pre-trial hearing shall be to determine any of the following matters:
    1. Arraignment of the defendant, if such be necessary; and appointment of counsel to represent the defendant, if such be necessary;
    2. Pleadings of the defendant;
    3. Special pleas, if any;
    4. Exceptions to the form or substance of the indictment or information;
    5. Motions ofr continuance either by the government or defendant; provided that grounds for continuance not existing or not known at the time may be presented and considered at any time before the defendant announces ready for trial;
    6. Motions to suppress evidence--When a hearing on the motion to suppress evidence is granted, the court may determine the merits of said motion on the motions themselves, or upon opposing affidavits, or upon oral testimony, subject to the discretion of the court;
    7. Discovery; and
    8. Entrapment.
2. **QUASHING CHARGE** - If the motion to set aside or the exception to an information is sustained, the defendant in a misdemeanor or felony case shall be discharged, but may be again prosecuted within the time allowed by law, and proceedings may afterward be had against him as if no prosecution had ever been commenced.
3. **SHALL BE FULLY DISCHARGED, WHEN** - Where, after the motion or exception is sustained, it is made known to the court by sufficient testimony that the offense of which the defendant is accused will be barred by limitation before another information can be presented, he shall be fully discharged.
4. **DISCHARGE FOR DELAY** - If a motion to set aside an information, or complaint for failure to provide a speedy trial is sustained, the court shall discharge the defendant. A discharge under this article is a bar to any further prosecution for the offense discharged and for any other offense arising out of the same transaction, other than an offense of a higher grade that the attorney representing the government and prosecuting the offense that was discharged does not have the primary duty to prosecute.
5. **AMENDMENT OF INDICTMENT OR INFORMATION** 
    1. After notice to the defendant, a matter of form or substance in an information may be amended at any time before the date the trial on the merits commences.
    2. A matter of form or substance in an indictment or information may also be amended after the trial on the merits commences if the defendant does not object.
    3. An indictment or information may not be amended over the defendant's objection as to form or substance if the amended information charges the defendant with an additional or different offense or if the substantial rights of the defendant are prejudiced.
6. **HOW AMENDED** - All amendments of an information shall be made with the leave of the court and under its direction.
7. **FORMER ACQUITTAL OR CONVICTION** - A former judgment of acquittal or conviction in a court shall be a bar to any further prosecution for the same offense, but shall not bar a prosecution for any higher grade of offense over which said court had not jurisdiction, unless such judgment was had upon information, in which case the prosecution shall be barred for all grades of the offense.
### RULE 7 - DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE
1. **CAUSES WHICH DISQUALIFY** - No judge shall sit in any case where he may be the party injured, or where he has been of counsel for the State or the accused, or where the accused or the party injured may be connected with him by consanguinity or affinity within the third degree.
### RULE 8 - DISMISSING PROSECUTIONS
1. **DISMISSAL BY THE GOVERNMENT** - The attorney representing the government may, by permission of the court, dismiss a criminal action at any time upon filing a written statement with the papers in the case setting out his reasons for such dismissal, which shall be incorporated in the judgment of dismissal. No case shall be dismissed without the consent of the presiding judge.
### RULE 9 - SPEEDY TRIAL
1. **TRIAL PRIORITIES** - Insofar as is practicable, the trial of a criminal action shall be given preference over trials of civil cases.
2. **SPEEDY TRIAL RIGHTS**
    1. Upon there being a dispute of a speedy trial, the court shall consider the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the time and manner in which a defendant asserted their rights; and the degree of prejudice to which the delay has caused.
    2. No appellate court shall overturn a case on measure of a delay that is caused solely by the court itself.
    3. No appellate court shall overturn a case without the defendant first asserting his rights to speedy trial in a timely manner.
### RULE 10 - MODE OF TRIAL
1. **PRESENCE OF DEFENDANT** - In all prosecutions for felonies, the defendant must be personally present at the trial, and he must likewise be present in all cases of misdemeanor when the punishment or any part thereof is imprisonment in jail; provided, however, that in all cases, when the defendant voluntarily absents himself after pleading to the information, the trial may proceed to its conclusion. If the defendant did not respond to the summons, the trial may likewise proceed to conclusion after forty-eight hours of their summons. When the record in the appellate court shows that the defendant was present at the commencement, or any portion of the trial, it shall be presumed in the absence of all evidence in the record to the contrary that he was present during the whole trial. Provided, however, that the presence of the defendant shall not be required at the hearing on the motion for new trial in any misdemeanor case.
2. **MAY APPEAR BY COUNSEL** - In other misdemeanor cases, the defendant may, by consent of the government's attorney, appear by counsel, and the trial may proceed without his personal presence.
3. **TO FIX DAY FOR CRIMINAL DOCKET** - The district courts shall have control of their respective dockets as to the settings of criminal cases.
### RULE 11 - JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE
1. **JUDGMENT** - A judgment is the written declaration of the court signed by the trial judge and entered of record showing the conviction or acquittal of the defendant. The sentence served shall be based on the information contained in the judgment. The judgment shall reflect:
    1. The title and number of the case;
    2. That the case was called and the parties appeared, naming the attorney for the government, the defendant, and the attorney for the defendant, or, where a defendant is not represented by counsel, that the defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived the right to representation by counsel;
    3. The plea or pleas of the defendant to the offense charged;
    4. The submission of the evidence, if any;
    5. The verdicts or findings of the court;
    6. In the event of a conviction that the defendant is adjudged guilty of the offense as found by the verdict of the jury or the finding of the court, and that the defendant be punished in accordance with the court's finding as to the proper punishment;
    7. In the event of acquittal that the defendant be discharged;
    8. The offense or offenses for which the defendant was convicted;
    9. The date of the offense or offenses and degree of offense for which the defendant was convicted;
    10. The term of sentence;
    11. The date judgment is entered;
    12. The date sentence is imposed;
    13. The date sentence is to commence and any credit for time served;
    14. The terms of any order that the defendant's sentence is to run cumulatively or concurrently with another sentence or sentences;
    15. The terms of any plea bargain;
    16. Affirmative findings entered;
    17. In the event that the court orders restitution to be paid to the victim, a statement of the amount of restitution ordered.
2. The judge may order the prosecuting attorney, or the attorney or attorneys representing any defendant, or the court clerk under the supervision of an attorney, to prepare the judgment, or the court may prepare the same.
3. The provisions of this rule shall apply to both felony and misdemeanor cases.
4. In addition to the information described by Section 1 of this article, the judgment should reflect affirmative findings entered pursuant to these rules.
### RULE 12 - APPEAL AND WRIT OF ERROR
1. **APPEAL BY GOVERNMENT**
    1. The government is entitled to appeal an order of a court in a criminal case if the order:
        1. dismisses an indictment, information, or complaint or any portion of an indictment, information, or complaint;
        2. arrests or modifies a judgment;
        3. grants a new trial;
        4. sustains a claim of former jeopardy;
        5. grants a motion to suppress evidence, a confession, or an admission, if jeopardy has not attached in the case and if the prosecuting attorney certifies to the trial court that the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay and that the evidence, confession, or admission is of substantial importance in the case
    2. The government is entitled to appeal a sentence in a case on the ground that the sentence is illegal.
    3. The government is entitled to appeal a ruling on a question of law if the defendant is convicted in the case and appeals the judgment.
    4. The government is entitled to a stay in the proceedings pending the disposition of an appeal.
2. **DEFENDANT MAY APPEAL** - A defendant in any criminal action has the right of appeal under the rules hereinafter prescribed, provided, however, before the defendant who has been convicted upon either his plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere before the court and the court, upon the election of the defendant, assesses punishment and the punishment does not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant and his attorney may prosecute his appeal, he must have permission of the trial court, except on those matters which have been raised by written motion filed prior to trial.
3. **WRIT OF ERROR** - The defendant may also have any such judgment as is mentioned, and which may have been rendered in courts, reviewed upon writ of error.
### RULE 13 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. **PROCEDURE OF TRIAL**
    1. Unless specifically amended, the following trial procedure shall be utilized:
        1. Opening statements by prosecution and defendant, respectively.
        2. Presentation of evidence by prosecution.
        3. Defendant’s cross-examination of evidence presented by prosecution.
        4. Prosecution’s re-examination, if allowed.
        5. Presentation of evidence by defendant.
        6. Prosecution’s cross-examination of evidence presented by defendant.
        7. Defendant’s re-examination, if allowed.
        8. Closing statements by prosecution and defendant, respectively.
        9. Rendering of findings and judgement, if applicable.
2. **COURT APPOINTED COUNSEL**
    1. Those who are unable to procure suitable, dedicated counsel possess the right to be represented by court-appointed counsel, whether that appointed counsel be of the Public Defender’s Office or any other actively practicing attorney.
    2. It shall be the duty of the presiding judge to ascertain whether the defendant does or does not have adequate counsel. If a defendant does not have counsel, the judge’s office or clerk of court (or his deputies) shall inform the Public Defender’s Office.
    3. The defendant, in a competent mindset, may waive his right to court-appointed counsel.
    4. Upon the defendant’s motion to the court, he may represent himself. If such representation is allowed, the judge of the matter should inform the defendant of procedures throughout the entire proceeding.