Court Opinion

ID: 9626636
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 08:20:19.282544+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:06:31.556634
License: Public Domain

LANE, Presiding Judge,
specially concurring:
I agree that the failure to file a Bill of Particulars until seven days prior to trial is unreasonable and error, but I disagree with the requirement that the Bill of Particulars must be filed at or prior to arraignment as imposed by the majority. The amount of time required for counsel to prepare to defend against the death penalty in the second stage varies from case to case. I can conceive of cases where the State may have cause not to request the death penalty at the inception of the case or even prior to arraignment and then discover new evidence that might justify the imposition of the death penalty.
I would rather hold that defendant in a capital murder case shall be allowed a reasonable amount of time to prepare for trial after the Bill of Particulars is filed. If defendant’s counsel believes he does not have sufficient time to prepare to defend against the death penalty he should request a continuance and if the court agrees a reasonable continuance should be granted. What is a reasonable time should be a matter in the sound discretion of the trial judge, reviewable for abuse of discretion on appeal.