Motion to Reconsider

If someone files a motion to reconsider in Pennsylvania criminal court, the main question is what the grounds of the motion are. The court wants to know what you and your attorney feel were errors in the judgement, and those inaccuracies should be spelled out clearly in the motion. The timing of the filing of this type of motion is also very important in a criminal case. The faster one is filed the better, because it has to be put in before the conviction of the defendant becomes absolutely final. Good defense attorneys don’t waste time when filing these types of motions, especially since the motion in most cases must be filed within 10 days from the time of sentencing.

There are essentially two parties who can file a motion to reconsider in a Pennsylvaniacriminal court trial. In many situations it will be the accused person who files it if they feel that the court has made a terrible mistake. On the other hand, the court itself also has the right to file these kinds of motions. Whenever this happens, the court will normally do so at their own insistence. But still, in order for them to file it, the court has to receive direct approval from the defendant and/or their defense attorney.

A motion to reconsider should always be in writing, as well as specifically express the justifications on which it is grounded. If it is the defendant who is filing the motion, then the person to notify is the prosecutor. In the event that the motion for reconsideration is granted, a whole new judgement will be declared, and the one that was previously made will be thrown out. There are those instances, though, when a motion to reconsider will be excluded, and the party who is trying to file it will simply have to live with the results of the original case, whether it rendered a positive or a negative outcome.

When an accused person is granted this motion, they will not be put in danger of double jeopardy. This is true because the initial jeopardy is never eliminated. What has happened is the previous judgement has now essentially been completely replaced by a brand new one that pertains to the same case. The promptness in addition to its legitimacy are the most important factors in getting an approval of a motion to reconsider in Pennsylvania.Please feel free to contact our office to learn more about this particular motion.