Rule 23. Stipulations

Colloquy Required. The court shall not accept a stipulation to an essential element unless it first inquires of the defendant personally, upon the record, and determines that the defendant understands the element to which he stipulates; that the stipulation relieves the State of the burden of proving that element; that the defendant thereby waives the right to be confronted with the witnesses upon that element; and that the stipulation is made voluntarily and not as the result of force, threats, or promises other than those contained in a plea agreement disclosed to the court.

Entry. The court shall enter its acceptance and the findings made under subdivision (a)(1) upon the docket.

Refusal. The court may refuse to accept a stipulation to an essential element, in which event the State shall prove the element by evidence.

Filing. A written stipulation is filed through the electronic filing system as provided in Rule 32. It is filed when the system records the complete set of documents comprising the filing as received, and it is served upon the other participants in the case by the system upon the clerk’s acceptance of the filing.

Signature. The name transmitted with a filing by an account holder constitutes that account holder’s signature and that account holder’s declaration under penalty of perjury as to the contents of the filing. The transmitted name is not verified against the account; the account through which the filing is transmitted is the anchor of attribution.

Signature of Several Persons. Where this rule requires the signature of more than one person, the stipulation is sufficiently signed where each required person transmits a filing containing it, or where the person filing it recites the assent of each other required person and each such person confirms that assent upon the record in the case’s proceeding communications. A stipulation to an essential element shall bear the confirmation of the defendant personally.

Programmatic Filings. A stipulation transmitted otherwise than by an authenticated account holder is unsigned, and the clerk shall reject it unless it is ratified by a party or by counsel of record.

Binding. A stipulation accepted by the court binds the parties who made it. A stipulated fact is established for the purposes of the proceeding, and evidence contrary to it shall not be received unless the court relieves a party from the stipulation under subdivision (f).

The Court Is Not Bound. The court is not required to accept a stipulation offered to prevent a party from proving its case by evidence of probative force, and the admissibility of evidence in the face of an offered stipulation is governed by Rid. R. Evid. 403.

Sentence. A stipulation as to the sentence to be imposed is a plea agreement governed by Rule 12 and does not bind the court.

Scope. A stipulation is limited to the proceeding in which it is made and does not bind a party in any other proceeding unless it so provides.

Leave Required. A stipulation may be withdrawn or set aside only by leave of court.

Grounds. The court may grant relief upon a showing of mistake, fraud, or that the stipulation was not knowingly and voluntarily made, or where manifest injustice would otherwise result. A request for relief shall ordinarily be made before the close of evidence.

The Record. A filing cannot be amended or withdrawn once received. Relief from a stipulation is granted by order of the court, and the record thereafter contains both the stipulation and the order. The cure for a written stipulation that misstates the parties’ agreement is a corrected refiling, which bears its own later filing date; the original filing remains in the record.

to any matter of discovery permitted by Rule 14(a)(8);

to the authenticity of an exhibit, to the chain of custody of an item, or to the accuracy of a transcript or of an export of electronically stored information produced under Rule 14(a)(9)(C);

to the qualification of an expert;

to the admission of a report, record, or certificate in place of the testimony of its author, provided that where the stipulation waives the defendant’s right to be confronted with a witness the court shall conduct the colloquy required by subdivision (a)(1);

to the testimony a named witness would give if called, in which event the stipulation shall recite the substance of that testimony; and

to the manner, time, and place of a proceeding, subject to the approval of the court. No stipulation shall enlarge the seventy-two (72) hour pre-trial period allowed by Rule 46 or a period prescribed by Rule 19 except as Rule 19(h) provides, and no stipulation binds the court as to a matter committed to its discretion.