Criminal procedure
Rule 33 Motion
A Rule 33 motion asks the court to vacate a conviction and grant a new trial in the interest of justice.
Unlike a sufficiency challenge, the judge may weigh the evidence and consider witness credibility. Grounds include serious trial error, prosecutorial misconduct, and a verdict against the great weight of the evidence.
Timing splits by ground. A motion based on newly discovered evidence can be filed within three years of the verdict; anything else must be filed within fourteen days.
Newly discovered evidence has a demanding definition. It must have been unknown and undiscoverable through diligence at trial, and it must be likely to produce an acquittal, so evidence that merely impeaches a witness usually falls short. Courts also grant new trials for cumulative error, where no single mistake would matter but their combined effect deprived the defendant of a fair trial.
How it appears on a docket
MOTION for New Trial under Rule 33 based on newly discovered evidence filed by defendant 14 months after verdict. Evidentiary hearing set.
Governing rule
Fed. R. Crim. P. 33
Related terms
- Rule 29 Motion — A Rule 29 motion asks the court to enter a judgment of acquittal because the government's evidence is legally insufficient to convict.
- Mistrial — A mistrial is a trial ended by the judge before a verdict because something has made a fair result impossible.
More on criminal procedure
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