IN THE FIFTIETH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, PARISH OF PEINE DE MORT
STATE OF LOUISIANA
No. _____

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STATE OF LOUISIANA, Plaintiff
v.
JOHN CLIENT, Defendant

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MOTION TO REQUIRE THE PROSECUTION TO RESPOND
IN WRITING TO EVERY WRITTEN MOTION FILED BY THE DEFENSE

COMES NOW, JOHN CLIENT, by counsel, and moves this Court pursuant to the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and Article 1, Sections 2, 3, 5, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, and 24 of the Louisiana Constitution to require the prosecution to respond in writing to each motion that he files. In support of his motion, Mr. CLIENT states as follows:
1. Several reasons exist for requiring the prosecution to respond in writing to each motion filed by the defense, and to require that the prosecution cite the authorities on which they rely.
2. Judicial Economy: First, there are considerations of judicial economy. There are many motions which will require evidentiary hearings. Should the State concede that the motion should be granted, much time will be saved, and the Parish will not be put to the expense of paying for all the witnesses who will have to come to testify on the motion. The State's response to every motion will also provide this Court with additional authority, the better for this Court to decide the issues.
3. In civil actions, one party is uniformly required to respond in writing to the pleadings filed by the other party. It would be very odd to suggest that a rule which applies where a few thousand dollars are at stake should not apply where a life is at stake.
4. Notice to the defense: Additionally, Mr. CLIENT has a right to notice as to where the prosecution is coming from. See Lankford v. Idaho, 500 U.S. 110, 111 S. Ct. 1723, 114 L. Ed. 2d 173 (1991); State v. Martin, 376 So. 2d 300, 318 (La. 1979) (defense entitled to written notice regarding aggravating circumstances); State v. Bernard, 608 So. 2d 966, 972 (La. 1992) ("the use of victim impact evidence requires pretrial notice to the defense"); State v. Sonnier, 379 So. 2d 1336, 1356 (La. 1978) (defense entitled to notice "sufficiently in advance of court proceedings so that reasonable opportunity to prepare will be afforded"); State v. Monroe, 366 So. 2d 1345, 1348 (La. 1978); State v. Burrell, 561 So. 2d 692, 699 (La. 1990). Mr. CLIENT cannot prepare for hearings unless he knows what position the prosecution is going to take with respect to each of his allegations.
5. Therefore, unless the prosecution attorneys announce what their position is, and why, they will be defaulted from arguing varying positions on any appeal. This is only fair--when the accused loses by default, he or she dies; when the prosecution loses by default, the State may still get to keep Mr. CLIENT in prison under a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
WHEREFORE, for these and such other reasons as may appear at an evidentiary hearing on this matter, Mr. CLIENT moves that this Court enter an order requiring the prosecution to respond in writing, with citations to authority, with respect to the allegations found in his motions.
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