N.D.R.Crim.P.
RULE 50. CALENDARS
The courts shall must provide for placing criminal actions or proceedings upon appropriate calendars. Preference shall Scheduling preference must be given to criminal actions or proceedings as far as practicable. A court may make such orders for advancement or continuance of a criminal action or proceeding as may be necessary in the interest of justice.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Rule 50 was amended, effective_____________________.
Rule 50 is an adaptation of Fed.R.Crim.P. 50. The Rule rule is a restatement of the inherent power of the court over its own calendars. The direction that preference shall be given to criminal proceedings as far as practicable is generally recognized as desirable in the orderly administration of justice. [See Advisory Committee Note to Rule 50, 18 U.S.C.A., Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.]
Rule 50 differs from its Federal federal counterpart in three respects two ways. First, it makes mandatory (rather than discretionary) upon the court the arrangement of requires "[t]he courts" to place criminal actions or proceedings upon on the appropriate court calendar. This is necessary because the prosecuting attorneys in this State do not arrange the criminal court calendar as is done in some of the Federal District Courts. Secondly, reference to "district" court is deleted because the application of this Rule is to all courts, as provided in the scope of these Rules. Finally, the language of the last sentence, which provides for the "advancement or continuance of a criminal action or proceeding as may be necessary in the interest of justice", is intended to echo the A.B.A. Standards, which provide that a continuance should be granted "only upon a showing of good cause and only for so long as necessary, taking into account not only the request or consent of the prosecution or defense, but also the public interest in prompt disposition of the case." [A.B.A. Standards for Criminal Justice, Speedy Trial, § 1.3 (Approved Draft, 1968).]
The provision that preference shall be given to criminal actions or proceedings as far as practicable states an elementary principle of criminal justice which has gained in effect through application of the Sixth Amendment's "speedy trial" provision to the States. [See Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213, 87 S. Ct. 988, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1967). For a discussion of the connection between Rule 50 and the right to speedy trial, see King v. United States, 265 F.2d 567 (D.C. Cir. 1959), cert. denied, 359 U.S. 998, 79 S. Ct. 1124, 3 L. Ed. 2d 986 (1959).]
Rule 50 was amended, effective ______________, in response to the December 1, 2002, revision of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
SOURCES: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of _________________ pages ____; February 20-23, 1973, page 11; November 18-20, 1971, pages 23-24; 18 U.S.C.A., Fed.R.Crim.P. 50; Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal, §§ 831-832 (1969); 8A Moore's Federal Practice and Procedure, Chapter 50 (Cipes, 2d Ed. 1972); Barron, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal, § 2251 (1951); A.B.A. Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Speedy Trial, §§ 1.1-1.2 (Approved Draft, 1968).
STATUTES AFFECTED:
CONSIDERED: N.D.C.C. § 27-08-22, ch. 29-19.
CROSS REFERENCE: N.D.R.Civ.P. 40 (Assignment of Cases for Trial).