IN THE
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF RIDGEWAY
STATE OF RIDGEWAY,
Plaintiff,
v.
TIDESAEGIS,
Defendant.
Case No. RSC-CM-3314
MOTION TO STRIKE
MOTION TO STRIKE1
Defendant TidesAegis, by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby submits this
motion to strike to strike the government’s affidavit of probable cause, thereby dismissing the
criminal case against the defendant in full.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On July 25th, 2024, the State of Ridgeway filed a criminal information against the
defendant–one felony and three misdemeanors– alleging violations of the Ridgeway Criminal
Code. Attached therein is the affidavit of probable cause, signed by Detective rainqg of the
Ridgeway County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. The document is not signed
by any other individual other than Detective rainqg.
ARGUMENT
A. THE AFFIDAVIT OF PROBABLE CAUSE IS INSUFFICIENT
An affidavit, by definition, is “a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for
use as evidence in court.” Oxford English Dictionary. For an affidavit of probable cause to be
sufficient, it must be “a sworn statement in writing made [...] under an oath or on affirmation
before [...] an authorized officer.'" Mason v. Clark, 920 F.2d 493, 495 (8th Cir. 1990) (internal
quotation marks omitted). In this case, the Detective has not made this oath or affirmation before
1 This motion to strike shall also be construed as a motion to dismiss
an authorized officer; the part of the affidavit where a prosecutor would sign bears no signature2.
This “unsigned affidavit is a contradiction in terms” and therefore cannot be considered. Id. An
oath is an integral part of an affidavit. An affiant cannot be held liable for perjury if there is no
authorized officer who attests that the affiant was under oath. Accordingly, the affidavit of
probable cause is not complete, and thus must be struck. To not strike the affidavit of probable
cause would be a violation of the defendant’s procedural due process guaranteed by the Fifth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.
B. DISMISSAL AFTER STRIKING THE AFFIDAVIT OF PROBABLE CAUSE IS
THE ONLY PROPER REMEDY
It is an elementary principle of criminal pleading that “[a] charge cannot be filed unless it
is supported by probable cause.” State v. Bale (In re Pers. Restraint Petition of Bale), No.
48042-5-II, at *0 (Wash. Ct. App. Feb. 22, 2017); See also State v. Mandell, 353 Mo. 502, 508
(Mo. 1944) ("It has always been the rule that an information cannot be filed by a prosecutor
unless there is probable cause for the prosecution.") Because the affidavit is insufficient, and
thus must be struck, there is no probable cause for this case to continue. The only proper remedy
for this would be dismissal. This court cannot allow the State to hold the defendant hostage and
allow another filing of an affidavit of probable cause. The State cannot proceed as though the
affidavit of probable cause–and this case–was untouched and left to its original form. This
would effectively refile this case, except illegitimately. The State should not be allowed to
circumvent the procedures of this court by being granted leave to fix the errors in the affidavit of
probable cause. As such, the only available and proper remedy for this error is dismissal.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the motion to strike the affidavit of probable cause should be
granted, and this case should be dismissed in full.
2 https://gyazo.com/361e61f144b6d33fe52c21e01f77c404
Date: 07/31/2024
/s/ JAMESGARDAI
Senior Associate
CLARKE, FEELINGS, & ASSOCIATES
Ridgeway Bar No. 24101
652 Palmer Blvd, Palmer Plaza Suite 6020
Palmer, Ridgeway
fishfromocean
Counsel of Record
