Legal Definitions - criminal calendar

A criminal calendar is the official schedule for a specific courtroom on a particular day, detailing all the criminal cases and related proceedings that are set to take place. It serves as an organized list for judges, attorneys, and court staff, indicating the time, location, and nature of each event. This calendar can encompass a wide array of activities, including initial appearances, bail hearings, plea negotiations, motions filed by attorneys, setting dates for future hearings or trials, and sentencing proceedings. All parties involved, including the person accused of a crime and their legal counsel, receive formal notification of their scheduled appearances.

• Imagine a busy Tuesday morning in a municipal court. The judge's criminal calendar for that day might list an initial arraignment for someone recently arrested for petty theft, followed by a hearing where a defendant in a misdemeanor assault case is expected to change their plea to guilty, and later, a review hearing for a person on probation to ensure they are complying with their terms. Each of these distinct events, involving different cases and stages of the legal process, is precisely scheduled on the day's criminal calendar, ensuring the court can manage its workload efficiently and all parties know when and where to appear.

• Consider the progression of a felony drug possession case. This single case might appear on the criminal calendar multiple times over several months. Initially, it would be listed for a bail hearing. Later, it might reappear for a motion hearing, perhaps because the defense attorney filed a request to suppress certain evidence. If the case proceeds to trial, it would then be prominently featured on the criminal calendar for the specific date and time the jury selection and trial are scheduled to begin. This illustrates how the criminal calendar tracks a case through various procedural steps until its resolution.

• A defense attorney preparing for their week relies heavily on the criminal calendar. For example, on a Wednesday, their calendar might show that they have three different clients with scheduled appearances: one client for a preliminary examination in Courtroom A, another for a status conference regarding a plea offer in Courtroom B, and a third for a sentencing hearing in Courtroom C. The criminal calendar provides the essential details—case name, type of hearing, time, and courtroom—allowing the attorney to organize their day, prepare appropriately for each client, and ensure they are present for every critical legal event.