Opinion ID: 1211537
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prosecution Compliance With Pretrial Process

Text: Differing from what is said in this court's opinion, the reappearance of DeRohwer is undocumented in the record as to date, circumstance or place, except that he was in Wyoming for approximately two months prior to the trial date and that apparently on Friday, October 4, pled to the nonassociated charge of delivery of marijuana. [9] In addition to the broad reach of the constitutional questions, Wyoming has: a specific rule on pretrial practice; Rule 601, Uniform Rules for the District Courts of the State of Wyoming; Rule 16, W.R.C.P., which is similar to Rule 16, F.R.C.P.; and Rule 19, W.R.Cr.P., similar to Rule 17.1, F.R.Cr.P. The additional issue created by this decision is whether the obligation to demonstrate prejudice from violation of pretrial orders and processes is charged against the nonviolating party. Cavalier disregard of the basic intent of pretrial processes to simplify and establish evidence issues, designate witnesses and define documents consequently emasculates the rules. Any blithe assumption that a critical witness can be presented within days of trial without any amendatory filing or cause shown, leaving to the respondent the requirement to put together and define the total scope of prejudicial result is abhorrent and precedentially unjustified. This court has previously said that a motion for a continuance is a more appropriate remedy than a mistrial, and now, where a motion for continuance is requested in accord with this court's direction, the majority of this court say that trial court discretion justifies denial of that real opportunity to adequately defend. Simms v. State, Wyo., 492 P.2d 516, cert. denied 409 U.S. 886, 93 S.Ct. 104, 34 L.Ed.2d 142 (1972). See also Nation v. Nation, Wyo., 715 P.2d 198 (1986); and Nimmo v. State, Wyo., 607 P.2d 344 (1980). This court well stated the intended philosophy in Rhoads v. Gilliland, Wyo., 514 P.2d 202, 203 (1973):    A pretrial conference is not a trial on the merits, its purpose being to eliminate surprise and to simplify issues of the case, thereby facilitating the trial on the merits. The pretrial conference authorized by Rule 16 is designed to familiarize the litigants and the court with the issues actually involved in a lawsuit so that the parties can accurately appraise their cases and substantially reduce the danger of surprise at trial. The importance of this objective should not be underemphasized. As stated by Judge Laws in an address before the Judicial Administration Section of the American Bar Association at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1940: `One of the vital, if not the outstanding, advantages of pretrial procedure is to take the trials of cases out of the realm of surprise and maneuvering, whereby an unwary counsel might see the just case of his client lost. It may be romantic and charming to watch the skillful trial lawyer as he lies in wait to pounce upon an uninformed and less skillful counsel, but the results frequently are not just.' Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil § 1522. In a march to affirm criminal convictions, this court should not decimate the orderly practice developed through pretrial as a method for both simplification of the justice process and the expeditious resolution of controversies.