A motion is a request by one party which asks for the judge to order something. Many kinds of motions are made prior to trial in a criminal case. Typically, pre-trial motions request that either specific evidence be suppressed or excluded from the trial (i.e., the evidence cannot be seen or heard by the jury) or that specific evidence be obtained for use at trial.

Here are some examples:

• The defendant may make a motion requesting that the judge suppress evidence of his statement to police;
• The prosecutor may make a motion requesting permission to introduce, at trial, evidence of prior bad acts by the defendant (this is evidence of crimes committed by the defendant that are not charged in the instant case but that relate to the defendant’s credibility or tend to prove some element of the crime charged);
• The defendant may make a motion requesting that the prosecution be ordered to obtain a particular piece of evidence or records that are not already in their possession or requesting that the judge sign a subpoena allowing the defendant to obtain it (e.g., medical records or therapy records, phone records, social media records);
• Either party may make a motion to bar the other party from calling an expert witness to testify at trial by arguing the evidence is scientifically unreliable, unnecessary, or irrelevant to the case;
• The defendant may make a motion requesting to introduce evidence of the sexual assault victim’s consensual sexual history which would generally not be permissible. (This relates to a specific law referred to as rape shield law which is discussed in Module 3).

Pre-trial motions may be submitted to the court in writing or made orally in the courtroom. Both sides generally have the opportunity to be heard on the motion.

Example: Defendant made a statement to police at the time of his arrest during which he admitted to having been at the location of the crime at the time it occurred. Before trial, defendant makes a motion requesting that the judge suppress his statement, alleging that the police violated his constitutional rights when they interrogated him. The prosecutor responds, requesting that the judge deny the defendant’s motion. Both sides provide a legal basis for their argument (citing to laws and court decisions) and then the judge issues a decision.

Sometimes judges’ decisions on these pre-trial motions are to order pre-trial hearings on the issue (Explained on next page).

Given the number of motions that may be applicable in any given case and how complicated the legal issue in the motion is, the pre-trial motion stage may take many months in itself. However, having these legal issues decided before trial means fewer interruptions during the trial and also that the parties have a better understanding of what evidence will be allowed at the trial which helps them prepare their evidence and arguments.