Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

co-defendants

in a criminal case if you have a co-defendant and your co-defendant wants to waive time on a jury trial and you don't want to wave time. How is the defendant tried without his co-defendant?


Asked on 7/04/09, 6:42 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

David M. Wallin Law Offices OF David M. Wallin

Re: co-defendants

Usually, if a judge finds "good cause" for 1 defendant to continue the case....for further invcestigation or some other legal reason, the judge will grant the continuance for both defendants, even over the co-defendants objection. The saying is "good cause for 1 is good cause for both". David Wallin at www.wallinlaw.com

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Answered on 7/04/09, 6:49 pm
Joe Dane Law Office of Joe Dane

Re: co-defendants

Wanting to waive time just to delay or for convenience is one thing, asking for a continuance based on "good cause" is another.

If the court finds "good cause" to continue one defendant's case the finding ordinarily applies to all co-defendants. If this is a substantial burden or you have other pressing reasons for not waiving time and objecting, your attorney can look into filing a motion to sever (or split) the cases. It may or may not be granted, based on the facts of the case and your reasons, but if you're absolutely set on trying to split off from your co-defendant, talk to your attorney about this.

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Answered on 7/04/09, 7:32 pm


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