TITLE FOUR — SENTENCING
Rule 33. Fugitive from Justice
When Fugitive Status Arises. A state judge shall deem a defendant a fugitive from justice when, and only when, each of the following circumstances applies, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.502 requires:
A felony indictment, a misdemeanor criminal information, or a military charge sheet, issued upon probable cause, has identified the defendant;
The defendant has failed to appear before the court for an arraignment or a preliminary hearing, or has failed to enter a plea, to appoint counsel, or to request counsel, or has renounced Ridgeway residency, or has left the proceedings after notice, or fails to be present at the beginning of trial;
The defendant has been provided proper notice of the proceedings and of the requirements of the defendant’s presence;
Where the defendant has failed to appoint counsel, the state judge has appointed a public defender or court-appointed counsel as standby counsel; and
The defendant has failed to show cause for the failure to appear.
Petition of the Government the Only Initiation.
A state judge may declare a defendant a fugitive from justice only upon the petition of the government, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.503 requires. No such declaration shall be entered upon the court’s own initiative, upon the motion of a co-defendant, upon the motion of a victim, or upon the application of any other person.
The petition is filed by the prosecuting attorney in the criminal case in which the charging instrument issued, and is filed and served as Rule 32 provides.
Contents. A petition to declare fugitive status shall demonstrate the details of the defendant and that all requirements of 6 R. Stat. § 131.502 are satisfied, and shall state:
The username of the defendant, and any other name or description by which the defendant may be identified with reasonable certainty;
The case number, and the Bates number of the filing in which the indictment, criminal information, or military charge sheet was entered, and the offenses charged;
That the charging instrument issued upon probable cause;
Each proceeding at which the defendant failed to appear, or each act enumerated in Rule 33(1)(b) upon which the government relies, with the date and time of each;
The manner, time, and content of the notice given to the defendant of the proceedings and of the requirement of the defendant’s presence, and the docket or record entry evidencing that notice;
Whether the defendant has appointed or requested counsel and, where the defendant has not, the identity of the public defender or court-appointed counsel appointed as standby counsel and the date of that appointment; and
The facts showing that the defendant has failed to show cause for the failure to appear.
Standby Counsel a Prerequisite. Where the defendant has failed to appoint counsel, the court shall appoint a public defender or court-appointed counsel as standby counsel before entertaining a petition under this rule. A petition filed before such an appointment shall be denied without prejudice, and the court shall make the appointment forthwith.
Determination of the Petition. The court shall determine, upon the petition and upon the record of the case, whether each requirement of Rule 33(1) is satisfied. The court may take evidence upon any issue of fact. If any requirement is not satisfied, the court shall deny the petition and state the reason upon the record. If every requirement other than Rule 33(1)(e) is satisfied, the court shall grant the petition and enter an order to appear and show cause.
Order to Appear and Show Cause.
Entry. Upon granting the petition, the state judge shall enter an order to appear and show cause, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.504 requires.
Contents. The order shall be addressed to the defendant and shall state:
The username of the defendant and the case number;
The acts of non-appearance upon which the order is founded;
That the defendant is ordered to appear, in the proceeding communications of the case or in open court, and to show cause why the defendant should not be declared a fugitive from justice;
The date and time by which the defendant shall appear, which shall be not less than forty-eight (48) hours after the issuance of the order;
The penalties of the status of a fugitive from justice, enumerated as Rule 33(9) provides;
That a failure to appear and show cause will result in an order finding the defendant to be a fugitive from justice, which order serves as a valid arrest warrant for the duration of the status; and
That a failure to attend, appear, or respond before a court of justice where lawfully summoned, served, notified of a required appearance, or subpoenaed is an offense under R.C.C. § 1.12.
Enlargement. The state judge may enlarge the time for appearance at the judge’s discretion, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.504 permits. The judge shall not shorten it below forty-eight (48) hours.
Notice of the Order. Service of the order is effected upon the clerk’s acceptance of the filing that carries it, as Rule 32 provides. The court shall in addition direct that notice of the order be given in the proceeding communications of the case, and shall cause a copy to be given to counsel of record or to standby counsel. Notice given to standby counsel is notice to a defendant who has left the proceedings, has renounced Ridgeway residency, or is otherwise not reachable.
Hearing to Show Cause.
The defendant may appear within the time the order allows and show cause for the failure to appear. The defendant may appear personally or by counsel and may present evidence.
Cause is shown where the defendant establishes that notice was not given as Rule 33(1)(c) requires, that the failure to appear was not within the defendant’s control, or that the defendant has since appeared and submitted to the jurisdiction of the court.
If cause is shown, the court shall vacate the order to appear and show cause, deny the petition, and enter the case for further proceedings.
Declaration of Fugitive Status. Where a defendant has failed to appear and show cause after the expiration of the order to show cause, the state judge shall enter an order finding the defendant to be a fugitive from justice, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.505 requires. The order shall recite the findings supporting each requirement of Rule 33(1), the date and time of the expiration of the order to show cause, the penalties of the status, and the fact that the order serves as a valid arrest warrant for the duration of the status.
The Declaration as an Arrest Warrant.
A declaration of fugitive status serves as a valid arrest warrant for the duration of the fugitive status, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.508(g) provides.
Upon entering the declaration, the court shall place it within the in-game warrants system, and shall format the entry in the manner prescribed by Rule 6(1)(c): “MERITS OF OFFENSE; NOTIFY TO ENTER DISCORDCODE; RETURN TO JUDGE”
The declaration is directed to and executed by a law enforcement officer, in the manner and within the territorial limits prescribed by Rule 6(3). Return is made to the issuing court as Rule 6(3)(d) provides.
A defendant arrested upon a declaration of fugitive status shall be booked and delivered to a Department of Corrections facility as 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.201 and 131.202 provide, and may be held repeatedly in the sentencing timer for failure to appear, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.203 permits, the court having issued a warrant for the person’s re-arrest. No bond hearing and no bail hearing shall be held, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.205 forbids.
Penalties of the Status. The order declaring fugitive status shall recite that, for the duration of the status and as 6 R. Stat. § 131.508 provides:
Employment. No fugitive from justice shall be permitted to hold public office or employment in the State Government, county governments, municipal governments, or any subordinate agencies or departments thereof;
Military service. No fugitive from justice shall be permitted to serve in the Ridgeway National Guard, and shall be dishonorably discharged from uniformed service;
Commerce. No fugitive from justice shall be permitted to register a business or commerce within this State, nor to serve as an officer of any corporation under the laws of the State;
Firearms. No fugitive from justice shall be permitted to own, carry, possess, or operate any deadly weapon, firearm, or object which may cause serious bodily injury;
Law enforcement. No fugitive from justice shall be permitted to serve as a law enforcement officer of the State, nor to engage in any law enforcement training program administered under an agency or department of the State, or of a county or municipality thereof;
Legal practice. No fugitive from justice shall be admitted to the Ridgeway State Bar, and a fugitive from justice admitted to the practice of law shall be summarily suspended from the practice of law for the duration of the fugitive status; and
Arrest. The declaration serves as a valid arrest warrant for the duration of the fugitive status.
Duties of the Clerk.
State Recorder. The clerk shall submit every order of fugitive status to the State Recorder, attaching thereto a copy of the indictment or complaint, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.507 requires, for recording under 2 R. Stat. § 222.301. The State Recorder maintains the archive of all persons who have been declared fugitives from justice under 2 R. Stat. § 222.301(g).
Relief. Where relief from fugitive status has been entered by a state judge, the clerk shall transmit notice to the State Recorder, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.507 requires, for the recording of that change.
The Bar. Where the person declared a fugitive is admitted to the practice of law in this State, the clerk shall transmit notice of the declaration, and of any relief from it, to the Ridgeway State Bar and to the Supreme Court, which has disciplinary authority concerning attorneys at law under Const. art. V, § 3.
Recording. The clerk shall record every order entered under this rule as 3 R. Stat. § 131.102 requires.
Relief from Fugitive Status.
As a Matter of Right. A fugitive from justice may seek relief from fugitive status as a matter of right by entering a petition for relief served before the government in open court, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.506 provides. The petition shall affirm that the defendant will appear and comply with all proceedings. Upon the entry of such a petition, the state judge shall enter relief of fugitive status.
Form. The petition for relief shall state the username of the petitioner, the case number, the Bates number of the filing in which the declaration was entered, and the affirmation required by Rule 33(11)(a). It is filed as Rule 32 provides and is presented before the government in open court or in the proceeding communications of the case.
No Discretion Upon a First Petition. Upon a first petition for relief satisfying Rule 33(11)(a), the judge has no discretion to deny relief. The government may be heard, but the government’s opposition is not a ground for denial.
Subsequent Petitions. Where a defendant has received relief from fugitive status, any further petition for relief from a subsequent declaration of fugitive status shall be reviewed at the state judge’s discretion and not as a matter of right, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.506 provides. Upon such a petition the judge shall consider the defendant’s compliance with the affirmation made in the earlier petition, the reasons for the subsequent declaration, and the interest of the State in the defendant’s appearance.
Effect of Relief. Upon the entry of relief:
The penalties enumerated in Rule 33(9) cease prospectively;
The court shall cause the entry in the in-game warrants system made under Rule 33(8)(b) to be removed, and shall cancel the declaration as an arrest warrant;
The clerk shall transmit notice to the State Recorder as Rule 33(10)(b) requires; and
The criminal proceeding resumes, and the court shall set the matter for the proceeding at which the defendant failed to appear.
Relief Is Not Expungement. Relief from fugitive status does not remove the declaration, the petition, or any order entered under this rule from the record of the court, and does not expunge any arrest-based or conviction-based criminal record. Title Five governs expungement.
Effect Upon the Criminal Proceeding.
Trial in Absentia. A declaration of fugitive status does not of itself authorize a trial in the defendant’s absence. A trial proceeds in the defendant’s absence only upon an express waiver of presence under Rule 18(c) or upon an absentia authorization entered under Rule 18.3, and the findings required by 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(c) and (d) shall be made in every case notwithstanding the declaration. The declaration, the petition, the order to appear and show cause, and the record of the defendant’s failure to show cause are evidence of the matters the court must find under Rule 18.3(e), but are not conclusive of them. Proceedings under this rule and proceedings under Rules 18.2 and 18.3 are independent, neither is a prerequisite to the other, and either or both may be pursued.
Enlargement of the Pre-Trial Period. The court shall, upon its own initiative, enlarge the period prescribed by Rule 46(1) for so long as the defendant remains a fugitive from justice, and shall enter an order to that effect. The enlargement ends upon the entry of an absentia authorization under Rule 18.3(f), and the court shall thereupon fix the trial date as Rule 18.3(g) requires.
Speedy Trial. A period during which the defendant is a fugitive from justice is not delay attributable to the State for the purposes of Rule 19, subject to the limitations stated in Rule 19(4)(d).
Impeachment. For the purpose of Rid. R. Evid. 609, any period during which the defendant was a fugitive from justice is excluded in determining the time limitations upon impeachment by evidence of conviction of crime, as Rid. R. Evid. 609(2) provides.
Scope. This rule applies only to a defendant in a criminal proceeding. No person shall be declared a fugitive from justice in a civil action, in an expungement proceeding, or in an administrative proceeding.