Effective June 12, 2000, the procedures utilized by the judges of the General District Court will be modified for those cases where plea agreements are reached at the preliminary hearing calling for guilty pleas to be entered in the Circuit Court. Instead of those cases being continued to the next term day, if the defendant is out on bond, or continued for a trial (or plea) date if the defendant is incarcerated, all of those cases will be set for a date certain for the entry of a guilty plea, without the necessity for counsel or the defendant to appear at Circuit Court term day.

The guilty plea date can be any Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday during the first half of the immediately following term of court for all cases where the preliminary hearing takes place during the first half of the then current term of court, and any Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday in the immediately following term of court for those cases where the preliminary hearing takes place in the second half of the then current term of court.

This new procedure will not affect those defendants who wish to waive grand jury and enter guilty pleas on an expedited basis. In those cases, defense counsel should advise the Commonwealth Attorney prosecuting the case that the defendant wants to waive grand jury and should then discuss a possible date for entry of a guilty plea. The date can be scheduled the week after the preliminary hearing.

(7/2000-prepleaa.gre)