Rule 3.2. Commencement; Charging Referrals

Commencement. A criminal proceeding is commenced by the filing of an accusatory instrument in the Superior Court through the charging workflow of the electronic filing system. No criminal proceeding is commenced by an arrest, by a probable cause entry, by a communication in the proceeding communications, or by an entry in the warrants system.

Investigative Referral. Where an authorized investigative agency has received a criminal report, it shall adjudicate the report and refer the report and its findings to the Justice Department, issuing a recommendation of offenses or indicating that no recommendation is made, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.703. A failure to adjudicate within the time prescribed by 6 R. Stat. § 131.702 shall not constitute a basis for dismissal of a criminal proceeding.

Probable Cause Entry. A law enforcement officer who has arrested a person, or who seeks a determination of probable cause, shall make the entry required by Rule 3.1(9) through the duty court workflow. A probable cause entry is not an accusatory instrument.

Charging Referral. A charging referral is the submission by which a prosecutor causes an accusatory instrument to be filed. It may be filed only by a prosecutor holding charging authority in the electronic filing system, and only through the prosecution workflow. The referral shall include:

The General Channel Is Closed. No person may commence a criminal proceeding through the general filing channel of the electronic filing system. A complaint, letter, motion, or other paper tendered by a private person for the purpose of charging another with an offense shall be rejected by the clerk. A private person having knowledge of an offense may act as a complainant under Rule 3(6) and may report the matter to an authorized investigative agency, but may not file an accusatory instrument.

Form of the Instrument. An accusatory instrument composed through the court’s criminal information generator satisfies the requirements of form prescribed by Rule 4. An instrument composed otherwise is filed unchecked and is subject to rejection by the clerk for want of form.

Docketing. The matter is opened and is active upon filing. Docketing is not conditioned upon clerk review, upon service, or upon the payment of any fee. Clerk review is a review of the filing after it is on the docket, and a rejection removes the filing from public view but does not undo the opening of the matter.

Fees. No filing fee is charged to the State or to a prosecutor for a charging referral; the assessment is recorded at zero and as paid. No fee assessed in a criminal proceeding, whether against the State or against a defendant, shall operate as a condition of docketing, service, acceptance, or the running of any period. An unpaid fee is a debt and is collected as such.

Declination. A prosecutor may decline to charge a matter referred by an investigative agency. A declination is not filed with the court and creates no case. Where a charging referral has been filed, dismissal is governed by Rule 16.

Multiple Defendants; Joinder. A single charging referral may charge two or more defendants where joinder is permitted by Rule 9. Where joinder is not permitted, separate referrals shall be filed and separate matters shall be opened.

Superseding Instruments. A prosecutor may file a superseding accusatory instrument in a pending matter. The superseding instrument is a new filing bearing its own filing date and Bates number; the earlier instrument remains upon the docket and is superseded as a matter of pleading, not removed from the record. Arraignment upon a superseding instrument is governed by Rule 7(5).