QUESTION:
If a defendant accused of a crime moves the court for dissmissal with citation of sufficient points & authorities and the prosecutor opposes with virtually no citation of authoritiy other than the fact the authority is the District Attorney, do State Courts usually favor the defendant? Would a good judge not allow a young & wet behind the ears prosecutor to abuse power?
ANSWER:
I’ll try to give you a direct answer as best I can: No matter how poorly written or reasoned an opposition brief is, a court is presumed to know the law, and the court is not limited by the legal reasoning contained in the opposition brief. So, an inadequate motion will not be granted solely on the basis of a poor opposition.
As for oral motions for dismissal in the furtherance of justice pursuant to Penal Code Section 1385(a) … they are very rarely granted.
I don’t write any of this to discourage you. I think it’s very admirable that you’re so involved in your own defense (I’m assuming that you are the motion writer.) But if you feel that you have a strong legal argument to make, I think one way to help ensure that opportunity isn’t squandered is to seek help from an attorney.
