Opinion ID: 2283054
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Motion to Stay Proceedings

Text: Appellant last complains that the Court of Appeals improperly ignored his unopposed motion to stay the writ proceedings. Originally, Appellant moved the Court of Appeals to expedite its decision on his petition because his trial date was approaching. Some time after filing this motion, the prosecutor informed Appellant's counsel that he would not oppose a continuance of Appellant's trial until after the trial of Cecil New if Appellant would withdraw or seek to stay his writ petition. Acting on this agreement, Appellant asked the Court of Appeals to stay his petition and his trial was rescheduled. When the Court of Appeals entered its order denying the writ petition, it also denied the motion to stay as moot. Appellant claims this was improper but offers no explanation for why. He does explain that granting the stay would be to his advantage because if his trial is held after New's, then the discovery will no longer be under seal, thus making the writ proceedings unnecessary. If anything, this shows further that the Court of Appeals properly denied the writ since any harm that Appellant might suffer is still speculative given that, even without the writ, Appellant's trial might still occur after New's discovery file becomes unsealed. More importantly, this Court can discern no error in the Court of Appeals' treatment of Appellant's motion. The court was clearly aware of the motion and did not ignore it, having dismissed it as moot rather than leaving it in limbo. That the Court did not resolve the motion in the way most beneficial to Appellant is not ignoring his motion and is not error.