RULE 20. TRANSFER FROM THE COUNTY FOR PLEA AND SENTENCE
(a) Indictment, Information, or Complaint Pending. A defendant arrested, held, or present in any county other thanthatthe county in which the indictment, information, or complaint is pending against the defendant may state in writing the intention to plead guilty, to waive trial in the county in which the indictment, information, or complaint is pending, and to consent to disposition of the case in the county in which the defendant was arrested, held, or present, subject to the written approval of the prosecuting attorney for each county. Upon receipt of the defendant's statement andofthe prosecuting attorneys'writtenapprovalof the prosecuting attorney, the clerk ofthecourtor the courtserving the county in which the indictment, information, or complaint is pending shall transmit the papers in the proceeding or certified copies thereof to the clerk ofthecourtor court forserving the county in which the defendant is held or present and the prosecution continues in that county.
(b) Effect of Not Guilty Plea. If, after the proceeding has been transferredpursuant tounder subdivision (a), the defendant pleads not guilty, the clerk of courtor the courtshall return the papers to the court in which the prosecution was commenced and the proceeding must be restored to the docket of that court. The defendant's statement of intention to plead guilty may not be used againstthatthe defendant withoutthatthe defendant's consent.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Rule 20 was amended, effective January 1, 1980; March 1, 1990; ____________________.
Rule 20 is an adaptation of Rule 20, FRCrimP. It permits a defendant, arrested, held, or present in a county other thanthatthe county in which the indictment, information, or complaint is pending against the defendant, to state in writingthat the defendant wishesthe defendant's intention to plead guilty, to waive trial in the county in which charges against the defendant are pending and to consent to disposition of the case in the county in which the defendant was arrested, is held, or is present, subject to the approval of the prosecuting attorney for each county.The Rule differs from existing practice in that it permits a defendant, charged in one county and held or present in another, to plead guilty in the county in which the defendant was found.This procedure may be used between counties in the state, and is not limited to those counties in the same judicial district. The Rule benefits the defendant in that it permits a speedy disposition of the defendant's case, if the defendant desires to plead guilty, without the hardship which may be involved in transferring the defendant back to the county in which the defendant was charged. This may be desirable for a defendant who is arrested or turns one's self in at or near the defendant's residence for a crime committed elsewhere in the State. The benefit to the State is the savings in transportation expenses. The requirement that the prosecuting attorneys of both counties must consent to this action by the defendant provides the necessary safeguards for the State.
Rule 20 was amended, effective March 1, 1990.The 1990 and amendments are technical in nature and no substantive change is intended.
Subdivision (a) differs from its Federal counterpart in that it includes the complaint as a charging document, thus eliminating the need for a subdivision similar to (b) of the Federal Rule.
Subdivision (b) providesthata defendant is not obligated by the defendant's request for a transfer under Subdivision (a). If the defendant decides not to plead guilty, the defendantshallmust be tried thereafter in the county where the case was previously pendingin which the information was originally filed,on such information or on another information filed in term time, as the State's attorney may so elect. However, the written statement may not be used against the defendant without the defendant's prior consent.
The Advisory Committee's Notes to the original Federal Rule (18 U.S.C.A., FRCrimP, Rule 20 at page 127) say in part:
"This rule introduces a new procedure in the interest of defendants who intend to plead guilty and are arrested in a district other than that in which the prosecution has been instituted. This rule would accord to a defendant in such a situation an opportunity to secure a disposition of the case in the district where the arrest takes place, thereby relieving him of whatever hardship may be involved in a removal to the place where the prosecution is pending. In order to prevent the possible interference with the administration of justice, however, the consent of the United States attorneys involved is required."
SOURCES: Procedure Committee Minutes of ____________________; April 20, 1989, page 4; December 3, 1987, page 15; December 7-8, 1978, pages 14-15; October 12-13, 1978, pages 8-9; October 17-20, 1972, pages 4-5; September 26-27, 1968, pages 8-9; 8 F.R.D. 338, 340-341; Rule 20, FRCrimP; Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal, § 321-323 (1969); 8 Moore's Federal Practice, Chapter 20 (Cipes, 2d Ed. 1972); Barron, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal, § 2081 (1951); Goodman, Revolutionary Procedures in Criminal Actions, 1948.
STATUTES AFFECTED:
CONSIDERED: 33-12-12, 33-12-13, NDCC.