Motion for a continuance

Motion for a continuance

Whenever counsel is not fully prepared to proceed, he or she should move for a continuance. This applies to advising the defendant about entering a plea, conducting the defense of the preliminary hearing, responding to a motion, or proceeding to trial.FN62 As a rule, it is within the discretion of the court to grant the motion if good cause is shown.FN63

Voluminous documentation requiring analysis,FN64 the defendant's decision to switch counsel in the midst of the proceedings,FN65 and the amount of time required for defense experts to analyze the technical parts of the case have all been on the bases for defense continuances of computer crime cases.FN66 If a motion for a change of venue has been denied, and if counsel believes there has been a damaging amount of adverse pretrial publicity, he or she should move for a continuance until the time that a fair trial may be had.FN67 Failure to make a motion for a change of venueFN68