Penal Code 1181 PC - Motion For A New Trial
After a jury trial, one of the potential motions that can be filed would be a motion for a new trial. Now, there's no reason to file a motion for a new trial if there are no grounds to file a motion for a new trial. One argument that can be made to file a new trial motion in a criminal case is that some bad rulings were made that affected the outcome of the case.
For example, maybe the defense was trying to get some evidence in, and the judge ruled that when the prosecutor objected, that evidence was not coming in. It's not relevant. For whatever reason, it's prejudicial – the judge decided not to let it in. Or, maybe the defense was trying to block the prosecutors from getting some evidence in.
Grounds for the Motion

For example, they were bringing in another case that the defendant had been accused of doing to try to make it look like they must have done this one. The judge let that information in and made it look not good in front of the jury, so he should get a new trial. So, there are grounds to do that depending on the circumstances of the case.
Obviously, your criminal defense lawyer would have kept track of all the rulings that they felt were not fair and violated the law in the trial. Then, they could file a motion for a new trial, and certainly, if the motion wasn't granted, the appellate court could hear and decide whether or not you deserve a new trial.
The problem with these motions for new trials where you claim a bad ruling is that the judge who made the ruling will have to decide on the new trial motion.
The error of Law by the Court
So, in my experience – and I've been doing this for twenty-five years and have done a lot of jury trials in that time – the judge who made the ruling on the case is not likely to overrule themselves and say, I did make a mistake, and I am going to give you a new trial.
You'll have to bring them some law that's right on point that shows that they messed up and then they'd have to find that the error that they made had a significant impact on the criminal case and was not just some harmless error. So, this angle for a motion for a new trial is probably not going to fly, but again your attorney will assess it or your new attorney will assess it.
They'll now have to read the entire trial—or at least that portion that might be objectionable—to assess whether a new trial motion makes sense.
Newly Discovered Evidence
Another ground for a new trial motion is newly-discovered evidence. Now that the trial is over, we've found some evidence that we could have won the case if we had that evidence. We could have blocked the prosecutor's main argument or bolstered our defense theory of the case.
So, we've discovered some new evidence. We want a new trial. We want to be able to put that evidence on. But, of course, the judge and the prosecutor will not want to try the case again. Neither one of them – as much as they might have liked you and your defense attorney – is going to want to hear evidence again in a new case, so they're going to try to figure out how they can get out of doing a new trial, and the first thing the judge is going to say is, wait a minute. Why didn't you use this evidence in the first place?
You're going to have to overcome that argument. They're going to say if you had access to this evidence, you should have gotten it. You should have found it. So, you're going to have to be able to – or your defense attorney is going to have to be able to mount an argument if you want a new trial in a Los Angeles County court. You'll have to be able to say, no, I couldn't have found this before and show why.
This evidence was not available to me, numbers one and two. With this evidence, you will have to argue that you can win the case because you have to show the judge why. And again, the prosecutor is going to object to it, and you're going to have to be able to mount a pretty strong argument that you or your attorney couldn't have found this evidence and that this evidence is going to change the outcome of the case for you. Those are two significant hurdles to jump when it comes to a new trial motion.
Reviewing Your Case With a Criminal Lawyer
So, if you're looking to file a new trial motion and there are other ways to get it granted, you will want to sit down with an attorney. You're going to want to explain to the attorney, without putting a spin on things, what you believe the issue is in your trial because maybe that attorney that you're talking to doesn't have all the facts and circumstances surrounding your trial and once you explain it to them if they decide to take your case, they quote you a fee. You retain them, and then they will have to get the record from the trial, review it, and figure out their arguments related to the new trial motion.
If the attorney who did the trial is the one who will file the new trial motion, then obviously, you're going to have to rely on them to figure out whether you have grounds and what arguments they can make to get that new trial motion granted.
Obviously, you discuss it with them, but they will have the facts and circumstances necessary to help determine whether a new trial motion makes sense in your case and the likelihood of success. If the new trial motion is granted, you get a new trial, a jury is picked again, and there will be a decision made at the end whether you're innocent or guilty of each and every one of the crimes that you're charged with.
So, these new trial motions can be a very effective weapon because they give you another bite at the apple, but at the same time, they're tough to get granted. The judges will take these new trial motions on a case-by-case basis. They're going to look at all the facts of the case, and of course, they're going to have an eye toward denying the new trial motion. So, you will have some reasonable grounds to get it granted.
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