Los Angeles Serna Motion Attorneys

Protecting Your Right to a Speedy Trial

Both the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the California Constitution guarantee you the right to a speedy trial after you have been charged with a criminal offense. Yet not every criminal defendant will be given the speedy trial they are promised for one reason or another. When this happens, a Serna motion might be necessary to set things right and potentially dismiss the criminal charges altogether.

At Stephen G. Rodriguez & Partners in Los Angeles, our Serna motion lawyers can help you understand and utilize a pretrial Serna motion, starting with determining if it applies to your situation. If it has been an unreasonably long time since you were charged and you have not yet gone to trial, call (213) 481-6811 right now.

For more information about Serna motions and your right to a speedy trial, send an online contact form to Stephen G. Rodriguez & Partners today.

What is a Serna Motion?

A Serna motion is a pretrial motion that can dismiss the criminal charges against you if you were not given a speedy trial due to unreasonable or unnecessary delays. More specifically, you have the right to the commencement of a speedy trial once you are arrested, arraigned, and/or charged for a criminal offense, either a misdemeanor or a felony.

If you have not been charged yet, a Serna motion might not apply to your case. If you have been charged and your criminal trial has begun, but it is taking longer than you expected to conclude, a Serna motion might be unusable because it is a pretrial motion. To get a clear idea about whether you can use a Serna motion, talk to our Los Angeles Serna motion lawyers today.

What is a Speedy Trial?

The definition of a speedy trial varies, depending on the specifics of your criminal case. Overall, the State or federal government must make reasonable attempts to begin your trial as soon as possible and without missing legal deadlines.

Three important “speedy trial deadlines” are:

• California misdemeanor offenses: Within 45 days of your arraignment or within 30 days of being placed into custody.
• California felony offenses: Within 60 days of your indictment, arrest, or arraignment.
• Federal offenses: Within 70 days of your indictment, arraignment, or first appearance in federal court.

Keep in mind that a trial can be delayed for legitimate reasons. When such a reason comes up, it must typically be approved by both the defendant and the prosecution.

Filing a Serna Motion

Your criminal defense attorney from Stephen G. Rodriguez & Partners may want to use a Serna motion if it appears that your right to a speedy trial has been violated or if the typical trial deadline has passed. Upon filing a Serna motion, the court will set a hearing date shortly after to review the motion and decide how to react to it.

When a court is determining if a Serna motion is justified, it will consider:

• How long the trial has been delayed: The total number of delayed days between your arrest, arraignment, and/or indictment is an important factor when determining if a Serna motion is justified. For example, a delay of a few days might not be seen as a Constitutional violation.
• Why the prosecution has delayed the trial: The prosecution representing the State of California or the federal government needs to have good reasons to delay a criminal trial, such as important new evidence coming to light a day or a few hours before the trial is set to commence. If it is determined that the delay was intentional, caused by negligence, or reasonably could have been avoided, then the court might see the delay as unjustified and unconstitutional.
• How the delay will impact the trial: Delays can impact the outcome of a criminal trial and make it impossible to receive a fair trial. For example, waiting too long could cause memories of the events to become foggy, or entire pieces of evidence might become unavailable or go missing. If a delay could have conceivably hurt your chances of getting a fair trial, then the court might approve the Serna motion.
• If the defendant has been attentive: If the prosecution has delayed the trial or is taking longer than expected to prepare for the trial, the court may expect the defendant and their counsel to be attentive and inquire why the trial has not yet begun. If the trial is not “speedy” but the defendant is apparently not worried by it, the court might decide their right to a speedy trial was not violated.

Serna Motion Outcomes

The typical outcome of a successful pretrial Serna motion is the dismissal of the charges and case against the defendant. The underlying idea is that any prosecution against the defendant is unjust and unenforceable if the guaranteed right to a speedy trial has been violated. It is similar to throwing out evidence that was collected through unjustified means, such as an unlawful search and seizure. Regardless of what happened and what can be proved, the government has failed in its duty to provide a fair and just criminal justice process, so it has lost the right to prosecute the defendant in that situation.

If a Serna motion is unsuccessful, though, the case against the defendant will resume. If the defendant is then convicted, they could file an appeal and argue that the Serna motion should have been approved. The appellate court may agree and reverse the conviction and decisions of the lower court. 

Get More Information About Serna Motions – Call Today

At Stephen G. Rodriguez & Partners, we’re on a mission to provide the strongest criminal defense for our clients, which includes providing experienced and insightful representation during pretrial Serna motions. Your right to a speedy trial is crucial and worth fighting for. Whether you are facing misdemeanor or felony charges, you can depend on us to stand up for what is right. You can call on our Los Angeles Serna motion attorneys for legal help, even if you have already accepted the counsel of a public defendant, so don’t hesitate to put our legal team on your side at any time. 

Call (213) 481-6811 to request an initial consultation about Serna motions in California.