(Revised 10/23/08. Some text is preserved with strikethrough to emphasize changes.)

Overview

Criminal docket control and implementation of the District Attorney's open file policy is all handled at the inception of the case through two orders, one standing order for docket control and a scheduling order for each case.

All criminal settings occur at the time of arraignment. It is the goal of the district courts that the time from indictment to trial be 120 days. Starting in 2008 the only standard setting other than arraignment is a "Status Docket" at which time it is expected that either a trial track or a plea track is selected.

Scheduling

There is filed in each case a scheduling order, entitled ORDER SETTING MOTIONS, DISCOVERY & TRIAL SCHEDULE and PRETRIAL NOTICE UNDER ARTICLE 28.01 C.C.P. bearing all relevant dates for the case after arraignment, as follows:

• Preliminary pretrial, if any. At the time of this writing the preliminary pretrial has been eliminated.
• Formal CCP Article 28.01 pretrial.
• Plea-bargain cutoff deadline.
• Plea date.
• Jury trial.

only the Status Docket date (as of January 2008).

A copy is available at arraignment for the State, Defense Counsel and Defendant. When the defendant appears without counsel both defendant and defense counsel copies are delivered to the defendant and it is the responsbility of the defendant to relay a copy to counsel when hired.

In that scheduling order your particular attention is drawn to the following section which provides that in order to move from the trial docket to the plea docket the following must be filed: The Plea Negotiation Agreement AND a Waiver of Jury trial, waived by both the defendant and the State:

Docket Control

Also filed in each case There is a Standing Order (effective 1/1/2007, for which extra copies are not filed in each case, is an governing docket control and discovery matters entitled ORDER GOVERNING MOTIONS, DISCOVERY & TRIAL APPEARANCES, and SUPPLEMENTAL DISCOVERY ORDERS (link below). All counsel are responsible, as with all other contents of the file, to be aware of and follow that order.

Lastly, an interactive graphical aid exists to help you follow the flow of these procedures.

Documents

Attached below you will find a detailed memo (33424Crim_Mgt_jan09.pdf) outlining the procedures for criminal case management and here are additional aids:

StandingOrderCrimDocketControl.pdf

CrimPleaBargainAgr.pdf

waiver_jury.pdf

waiver_pretrial.pdf