Criminal Trials, Hearings Motion in Limine & motion to dismiss

[invidia79]

I have a class D misdemeanor Criminal Threatening that I was charged with on Dec. 18th, 2009. I'm due to appear at the district court to enter a plea on Feb. 10th, 2010. In the state of Maine, you have 21 days from the day you enter a plea to request a jury trial which I plan to do. My question is a two part question. First, when would it be advisable to file a motion in Limine if at all? I want to file a motion for dismissal first however, I believe that I should wait to receive the Discovery first??? I would base the dismissal on the actions of the victim immediately following the altercation, which would cast heavy doubt that he was in fear of imminent bodily injury which is what the state has to prove. Is this in fact grounds to file a motion for dismissal?

Part two. Regarding the motion in Limine, I wanted to file on two grounds. A: to stop the state from mentioning details leading up to the alleged incident in the presence of the jury. I was involved in a physical altercation with another man (who refused to press charges) when the alleged criminal threatening occurred. This is to keep the state from allowing the jury to hear information about the Defendant that has no bearing (other than to shadow the defendant in a negative light) on the criminal charge brought by the state. If I am wrong or misguided please by all means voice your opinion so I can get an idea on what I SHOULD do. Thanks for reading my post.

 

[army judge]

Are you representing yourself?
You might find this website to be of assistance:
http://www.millerandzois.com/samplemotions.html

Good luck.

As regards your questions, you are generally on point for part one.

Part two:

Generally, motions in limine must be filed fifteen (15) days in advance. I do not know what the rules are in Maine. You should find that out immediately. Many judges view motions in limine as a preliminary injunction. Therefore, sufficient time is also allowed to insure the other party has time to respond to the motion.

Most likely, a motion in limine might not be necessary, as you most jurists would disallow tactics such as you fear.
However, you could file the motion.
But, be prepared to argue it before the judge.