In the law that applies in the United States, you need to know that a motion is a procedural tool that can later be used to assist in bringing a limited and possibly controversial issue to court so that it will later be used for decision-making. The motion itself can be submitted at any time, of course through administrative, criminal, or civil processes.
The general rule in the United States courts itself is that usually, the court does not have the power to make its own decisions. This means, that for the court to decide a case, the dispute in a case must be present at the trial, or it can be through a representative who is the legal representative. It is also important to note that one of the parties or also a third party involved, must file this motion by later requesting a specific order.
Learn about 11 Types of Legal Motions
So that later the court can take appropriate action regarding a case that is currently in dispute, one of the parties involved in the case must indeed ask the court to provide a decision on the problem that is currently occurring. If a plaintiff, prosecutor, or defendant later asks the court or judge to decide a particular case. this is what is called a motion.
In law, proposals are one of the things that are a very common aspect of the justice system in force in America, and this is useful to help ensure that a fairly controversial issue or case can be resolved properly and quickly. and efficient. Of course, the use of this motion will also vary, depending on the type of case, and usually the motion itself is used when:
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- Before the trial starts
- While the trial is in progress
- After the verdict is delivered
You need to know, there may be many types of legal motions currently available. However, some of the motions that we will mention below are the most prominent and indeed the most common and very important for a case, especially individual cases.
1. Motion to Dismiss
This is a motion used to apply to dismiss. Or what is commonly known as a motion to “Dismiss” an ongoing case. This motion itself is usually submitted when one of the parties, or usually the defendant, has the opinion that the decision is a decision that cannot be decided by the court. In other words, if the motion to dismiss is granted, then the party suing is the party who is not providing the facts provided by the other party, but only stating that the issue is not a valid claim and of course, the court cannot make a decision.
This motion to dismiss is a crucial type of motion that you need to understand because the law in the United States stipulates that the moving party in a case may concede that the facts presented are genuine. Nonetheless, the case may still be dismissed if there are no legal issues that can be raised based on the established facts, thereby precluding a decision by the court.
This motion itself will help ensure that the dispute that occurs does not involve matters related to the law so that it will not waste a lot of time and will not waste the court’s resources. In some cases, there may be legal issues at stake. However, if the limitation period has passed and ended, it means that the court can no longer interfere in making a decision.
In addition, this motion can also be filed later, if the defendant waives his rights and gets a speedy trial. So that later, immunity is given or even pardon, or when the defendant in question has been tried for the same problem or violation, which is usually known as double jeopardy.
2. The Discovery Motion
While this discovery process is ongoing, both parties who may be involved in a lawsuit will collect information as well as evidence that they can later use in court to build their case. As the name suggests, this motion is an activity carried out when the prosecution and defense are still making efforts to find evidence and other facts in an ongoing case. Later, both parties will be able to request information from each other to be able to help establish the facts that occurred in the case.
Later several movements can be used to help ensure that both parties can handle this discovery process well. If there is another party who may fail to provide valid information, for example, then this motion can later be used to force that party to provide a response and defense. Other motions can also be used to force this discovery to be used later if there are parties who respond to it. However, the response may be unclear or may be incomplete.
3. Motion to Compel
This motion itself is a motion that can later be forced to carry out coercion or force the moving party to ask the judge to use his power to force the other parties involved to do something that they may have been refused to do. As mentioned above, this motion to compel can be used during the discovery process which can be used to ensure that both parties involved have full access to the facts in the case.
For example, if the plaintiff refuses to provide an answer to a question contained in the statement. Later, the defendant can file a motion to compel this, so that the plaintiff can answer the questions asked. If the motion is granted by the court and it turns out that the plaintiff himself still refuses to provide an answer, then this means that he is ready to accept the demands that will be given by the court, based on contempt of court itself. Of course, this motion can also be used later during the trial, for example when there is a witness who may refuse to provide answers to questions asked while giving testimony.
4. Motion to Strike
A motion to strike is a motion that will later be requested if one of the parties wants something to be expunged from the records in court. This motion can usually be requested when a note contains information or language that is not admissible evidence.
One of the parties involved in this case can later request a motion to strike, if there are words that are deleted from the record or when there are words that are exaggerated, unclear, or embarrassing, and not very important, or could also be impolite words. Furthermore, one of the parties involved in a case can later request that if there is unclear information, it can be removed from the record and later it can be replaced with information that is much more specific and clear.
5. Motion for Summary Judgment
The motion used for summary judgment can perhaps be said to be the most frequently filed motion found in a court. Although this motion will not always be available in all cases. The motion for summary judgment will be made before the trial begins.
This motion will ask the judge concerned to be able to decide on the case without having to go through a trial process. A request like this can only occur and is possible if there is not a single fact of the case that is at issue, so what needs to be decided later is only the final decision on the case that is the case.
6. Motion for Directed Judgment
This is another type of motion that can be said to have the same characteristics as a motion for summary judgment and also a motion to dismiss. This motion for a directed decision is a type of motion where one of the parties (in this case the defense) will ask the court to end the case quickly.
This is an application for immediate sentencing and is submitted by the defense, after the public prosecutor may have rested his case. This motion itself will argue that in this case, the public prosecutor has failed to prove his case and that is why the defense no longer needs to provide any evidence and facts.
If we look at this request for a directed decision, it is essentially the same as asking the court to acquit the defendant because there are no strong enough arguments to provide a verdict or give a verdict.
7. Motion for Nolle Prosequi
This is a motion that can be used if the prosecutor can no longer prove the current case and cannot prove that there is any guilt in the case. So here the prosecutor himself will later ask the court to no longer or stop filing charges against the defendant in question. This kind of request is also called a nolle prosequi motion, which means that the prosecutor has decided not to press charges. This motion is also often filed if there is new evidence that might prove that the defendant is innocent. A nolle prosequi motion is a demand that will later ask the judge to dismiss the case because the defendant is innocent or there is no evidence strong enough to impose a sentence.
8. Motion in Limine
A motion in limine is a motion relating to what evidence is allowed and what evidence cannot be presented to the jury in court. The motion in limine itself will ensure that there is evidence that was not presented to the jury from the start of the trial. This motion in limine will be very helpful in ensuring that the defendant will receive a fair trial, and this will be less guaranteed if the jury later will only be asked to ignore evidence that already exists or has already been uncovered.
9. Motion for Judgment NO.V.
This one is a motion known as Motion for judgment no.v. or non-obstante veredicto. This motion itself is made after the jury has finished delivering its verdict. Motion for judgment no.v. This will later be carried out by the main defendant and he will later ask the judge to cancel the verdict handed down by the jury. This is a motion that is very rarely found and occurs in a trial and is only carried out if there are no more reasonable reasons that can be used as a basis for the jury to make a decision.
10. Motion to Set Aside Judgment
A request to set aside a decision is another motion that can be submitted later, especially after the decision in a case has been delivered. This application itself is an application to the court to cancel or vacate a decision that has been reached in the case. It could be said that this application can generally be submitted when new evidence is discovered after the case has been resolved. Which in the end might give rise to doubts that could influence the initial decision.
11. Motion for a New Trial
A request for a new trial is a motion that can be filed after the final verdict has been handed down. Each of the parties involved in this case will later be able to submit a motion for a new trial if they believe that a very significant error has occurred during the trial so that in the end they need a new trial.
For example, there is evidence that may have been introduced during the trial and has been excluded because of possible inappropriate and unreasonable motions. The request for a new trial itself is not a request for the decision to be changed or canceled. However, this new trial could result in a decision that is the same as the result of the first trial.
Those are 11 types of legal motions that you may not have known about so far. In a trial, this legal motion can be used according to the circumstances and needs. Of course, when submitting a motion, it must be based on both belief and facts to ensure the trial proceeds smoothly and efficiently, avoiding unnecessary delays.
