Can I postpone my criminal defense trial?

Question

I need to keep postponing court until I can get a real lawyer. How many times can I postpone it?

Mark Bruce · Answer

A "real" lawyer?  Is your imaginary friend representing you now?  Anyway, the court will tell you when it's fed up with the continuances.  My guess is that you are shopping for lawyers right now.  You probably don't have the money to hire one right now.  Unless you plan on getting a sudden influx of cash, you may want to re-think the plan of putting the court off over and over.  When you get a lawyer he or she will likely need to continue the case just to get up to speed.  So to answer your question:  The court controls how often if finds "good cause" to continue.

Steven D. Dunnings · Answer

How many lawyers have you had?

Jeff Yeh · Answer

It depends on the Judge/Comissioner, and how busy the court is.

James Schoenberger · Answer

As often and as long as the judge will allow.

Jules N. Fiani · Answer

Generally yes.

Jared Austin · Answer

You can keep getting adjournments as long as there is "good cause." Keep in mind, however, that the more you ask for the more inclined the judge is to deny them as a continuous stall tactic.

Michael J. Breczinski · Answer

Until the judge refuses to postpone it anymore. Appointed attorneys are real lawyers. Some are bad and some are good and some are great, just like retained lawyers.

Eric Sterkenburg · Answer

If you have good cause and depending on what your charge is you should take it out 3-6 months. contact me with the facts and I can give you a better answer and tell you how to proceed.

Roianne Houlton Conner · Answer

You may not be able to continue the case unless you have a real good reason to do so.

Loren M. Dickstein · Answer

Depends on your judge, the county or district court, the history of the case, the witnesses involved, whether the prosecutor will object, how many prior adjournments there have been, and much more. Your best bet would be to move as fast as possible to retain a qualified, criminal defense attorney.

Andrew Subin · Answer

That will be up to the judge.  Normally, we can continue a case for 6 months at least.

Craig Elhart · Answer

Generally, you can only postpone a trial if there is good cause.  Wanting to postpone so you can get a different lawyer is not usually seen as good cause.

Harley Gutin · Answer

Continuing a pending trial is difficult.  However, most judges will generally allow you one or two continuances, prior to actually setting it on their trial docket on minor cases and many more on serious cases depending on whether your setting depositions and disclosing many witnesses.  Retaining new counsel in good faith is a basis to get it continued.

Paul J. Wallin · Answer

There is no set limit as to the number of continuances. For each request you must show "good cause" and convince the judge to continue the case. However, most judges will not continue the case because you are "trying to retain a lawyer".

Michael Maltby · Answer

There is no set limit forcontinuances.  It depends on the charge and the court and oftentimes whether you are in or out of custody. Some cases take a long time to get to trial when the parties are trying to get them overwith. I suggest you talk to an attorney that you hope to hire and ask him/her this question.

Timothy Klisz · Answer

Until the court tells you no more adjournments. Just hire your lawyer now and don't risk it!

Thomas Tomko · Answer

Many times you can get an adjournment that you request. At some point, the Judge will grant no further adjournments. There is often no advantage to an adjournment just for the heck of it.  Sooner or later the case will need to go to trial. If the Judge is peeved at all of the adjournments, the attorney you hire may be jammed into trial on short notice, which will give them less time to prepare. Therefore, you should do everything you can to get your retained attorney as soon as possible. Also, decisions are made along the way prior to trial.  If you wait too long, you may prejudice your case to where the attorney you retain will not be able to accomplish things that could have been done earlier. If so, the delays may hurt your defense.  I hope that this was helpful.

Cynthia Henley · Answer

Are you set for trial? Or non-issue?   It depends on the court and charge. If you do not hire a lawyer within a couple or three settings, the judge will really lean on you and set a time limit. If you do not hire a lawyer by then, the judge will likely revoke your bond and put you in jail for delaying the case.  Most lawyers take payments. You should talk to lawyers you consider to be "real lawyers" and see what you can work out.

Jared Altman · Answer

It's up to the judge.

Jacob P. Sartz · Answer

Whether to postpone a trial is ultimately a question for your presiding judge.  Occasionally, the prosecution and defense may agree, with the court's consent  that adjourning a trial is necessary. Retaining a new attorney may be "good  cause" for an adjournment.  Occasionally, judges will adjourn various legal  proceedings so people can hire new attorneys. However, if the matter is too  close to trial, the court may not a substitution of council or request to  adjourn a trial.

Carina Laguzzi · Answer

I am not sure what you mean by a "real" lawyer.  If you have a Public Defender, that attorney is a real lawyer.  However, if you prefer to hire a defense attorney that you choose, the Court will probably allow you at least one continuance.  Tell the lawyer that you currently have as soon as possible so that they may alert the Court ahead of time to increase your chances that your continuance request will be granted.

Michael Morgan · Answer

First of all, if you are already represented by a lawyer the presumption is that your lawyer is competent. I am a former judge and while judges have a lot of discretion whether to grant or deny a continuance the two concerns normally will be 1) whether the prosecution is prejudiced by a continuance and 2) what steps you are taking to get a new lawyer. If you are serious about hiring a lawyer that would normally mean to a court that you have either the resources/money to pay for a lawyer or your making an effort to get the necessary funds and that you have spoken with a lawyer that has said that he or she would consider taking your case. If you have not made the requisite effort a judge should not grant a continuance. I would tell you when defendants use expressions like "real lawyer" that is often code among defendants for a public defender but it is also code to other lawyers that this is a difficult client. Not all lawyers are good lawyers and not all lawyers are a good fit for all clients but if you ask a judge to grant a continuance so you can find a "real lawyer" a judge might think that you won't be able to find a lawyer you like or that a good lawyer might decline to take your case because you are too difficult to work within which case they will want the case to go forward and will be unwilling to grant a continuance.

Gregory Casale · Answer

You can keep postponing it until he judge tells you "No More". The problem is that if you  come into a lawyer's office and tell him that the judge says he must go to trial in a week or two, you will have a hard time getting the lawyer. You need to get a lawyer on board as soon as possible.

Christopher McCann · Answer

There is no specific limit; any continuance requires "good cause" among other things. Let the court know you are hiring a lawyer. It will help to actually have had a meeting or two with some local attorneys that you could tell the judge so that he/she knows you are serious. Especially if they are local names the judge has heard of.

Terry Nelson · Answer

As many times as the judge will let you, for good cause you must establish to justify your request, but he is going to run out of patience if you dont do what you promise about getting an attorney.

Joseph Dane · Answer

You can seek to continue for a reasonable period of time.  What's reasonable?  As long as the judge says it is.  If you're just looking to stall the case and the judge doesn't think you're really serious about hiring an attorney, they may deny your further request to continue the case.  Keep business cards of the attorneys you're seeing and have them ready to show the judge, should they ask.  It also matters what stage your case is at.  If this is early on and you're moving forward on finding an attorney to take the entire case, it will probably be easier to get some time.  If you're right before trial, a judge may not look as favorably on your request.

Michael D. Fluke · Answer

That is going to depend on the judge in your case and your current lawyer's ability to come up with a better reason than the client wants to get a real lawyer.  I suggest you move as quickly as possible as judges don't always continue trial dates.  Good luck.

Kevin O'Grady · Answer

The continuance of a criminal trial is up to the trial judge.  With good reason many judges will continue a trial.  An earnest effort to obtain replacement counsel may get the trial continued perhaps a time or two. Judges control their calendars and different cases are treated differently, for example felonies versus misdemeanors.

Stephen Freeborn · Answer

It depends on how many times the court will allow you.  Generally a court will give you maybe 2 continuances to get an attorney, after that you are pushing it.  In regards to "a real attorney", I assume that is a dig on public defenders.  There are some very good public defenders out there.  I think some of them are good enough that they could make a very good living as a private pay attorney.  Just because an attorney is private, doesn't always mean he/she is good.

Gary Moore · Answer

The answer to your question depends on the Court's priorities for moving cases; the age of your case; the availability of witnesses; you reasons for requesting the adjournments. If you can reasonably estimate when you will be able hire an attorney and that time is not too far off, an adjournment might be granted by the court, on that basis. If you call me  so that we can discuss your specific situation I will attempt to give you a better answer to your question.

Eric Schurman · Answer

That's all up to the judge.  The longer you wait, the more difficult it  will be to have a new attorney be able to substitute in

Thomas Ogas · Answer

Its not a matter of how many times a case can be postponed, its about the reason for the postponement.  Each county court handles trial settings differently as well  some counties are so busy they really don't care how far trials get pushed back, other courts push hard to get cases cleared from their dockets.  No matter where you are, consult with an attorney anyhow   even if you cant afford one now.  Find out from them, in their opinion, how long you can postpone the case, and then determine if you can hire them (and afford them) in the time that you have.

Benjamin Daniel · Answer

You can only postpone for a good reason not just for delay. It sounds like   you need  a lawyer right now to give you correct in person  advice  based  on your particular fact situation. Delay may not be in your best  interest.

Robert Watkins · Answer

The Court may grant one or two continuances but will not allow delays   without cause. If a defendant persists in asking for a continuance and   the reason stated is not having a lawyer, the defendant could be   forced to proceed pro se in the case or given a specific period of   time to have a lawyer file an appearance. The Court might also insist   on appointment of a public defender to avoid any further delay.

Seth Bloom · Answer

If you have a valid reason to postpone your trial you can request a continuance which will allow you to reschedule your hearing to a later date.  There is no quick rule for the number of times that you may do this but the court will generally allow you to do so as long as they do not have any reason to believe that you are being untruthful about your reason for needing the continuance.  If you are seeking legal representation in this matter in Louisiana, I invite you to contact my firm at the information on this page for a free case evaluation.

Find a Lawyer

Ask a Lawyer

Read Legal Articles

Ask a Lawyer

Read Legal Articles

Can I postpone my criminal defense trial?

35 ANSWERS

Find Local Criminal Law Lawyers

Helpful Resources

Ask a Lawyer