Bill Text: MA S1551 | 2009-2010 | 186th General Court | Introduced
Bill Title: For legislation relative to the trial list in criminal cases
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-04-05 - Reporting date extended to Friday, May 7, 2010 [S1551 Detail]
Download: Massachusetts-2009-S1551-Introduced.html
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Steven A. Baddour
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To the
Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act Relative to the Trial List in Criminal Cases.
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PETITION OF:
Name: |
District/Address: |
The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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An Act Relative to the Trial List in Criminal Cases.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1: Section 1 of Chapter 278 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 1 and inserting in place thereof the following section:
Section 1. The district attorney in each district shall, in
the exercise of his sole responsibility and discretion, determine what criminal
cases are to be tried and prioritize the order of those trials, notwithstanding
any other statute or rule of court. At the beginning of each monthly court
session, the district attorney shall deposit with the clerk, for the inspection
of parties, a list of all such cases to be tried at that session. The
cases shall be tried in the order of such trial list, unless otherwise agreed
by the parties or ordered by the court upon motion of a party and for cause
shown. Cases may be added to such list by agreement of the parties or if
ordered by the court upon motion of the district attorney or of the defendant.
No criminal case shall proceed to trial unless the district attorney so moves;
the court shall have no authority to order a case to trial over the objection
of the district attorney or upon his refusal to move for trial. No case may be
dismissed because of the district attorney's failure or refusal to move for
trial. No case shall be dismissed on grounds of timeliness of prosecution
except upon a judicial finding that the Commonwealth has violated the
defendant’s right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment to the United State
Constitution, art. XI of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts
Constitution, or Rule 36 (b) of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure.