If the DA dies not have the requisite paperwork for your court date, is this grounds for having the case dismissed?
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If the DA dies not have the requisite paperwork for your court date, is this grounds for having the case dismissed?
I was driving a rental car home from my parents’ house. It was snowing very heavily and the roads were terrible. I ended up sliding on the ice into a curb. This caused the front driver’s side tire to detach from the axle. I contacted the rental company and they told me they would take care of it and have the car towed. The next day, I was contacted by the police. They wrote me a court summons for “careless driving”. My court date was yesterday. When I met with the DA, she informed me that they did not have any of the necessary paperwork on hand (primarily meaning the accident report itself), and therefore I would have to return at a later date when they were more prepared.
Asked on January 30, 2015 under Accident Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
The judge *could* have dismissed the case for this reason, but is not required to do so--there is considerable judicial discretion on this subject. Furthermore, even if the judge had dismissed, it would have been a "without prejudice" dismissal, since it would have been owing to a procedural problem (prosecutor not being ready) and would not have been a determination on the merits (i.e. a finding that you did not drive carelessly); therefore, even if it had been dismissed, the prosecutor could have simply re-filed the case.
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