How To Apply for a Stay

What follows are three different procedures to apply for a stay. Each way to do it is legally and technically correct but not all are well known. Expect the prosecutor or justice to give you a hard time if you use a method they have not seen or do not understand.

You will have to decide which method to use and accept the level of difficulty that comes with your choice. As the method becomes easier, the amount of opposition you face will increase. The easiest and most correct method will be the most difficult for them to accept.

Please note this next section is only about the process to ask for a stay. It is about how to ask the court to hear you. It is not about the content of your arguments or the reasons why your charge should be stayed. Some of those arguments are covered in the discussion about 11b applications. For now let's look at the procedure you must follow to get the justice to even consider allowing you to make your motion.

Method 1 is an almost "bulletproof" method but it requires spending a considerable amount of time at the court house to file.

Method 2 just uses a fax machine but you will face considerable opposition to your filing method at trial.

Method 3 uses no documents at all, just an oral motion at pre-trial. It is the least known method and you will face outrageous opposition in court.

You will have to decide which method works best for you. All are perfectly acceptable to the court but at trial your justice may not know this fact!

The one rare exception is if section 109 applies to you, then either Method 1 or Method 2 are acceptable. Method 3 provides no advance notice and therefore does not meet the requirements of section 109.