BILL OF PARTICULARS IN CRIMINAL CASES TRIAL

The Commonwealth filed a response in which it refused to provide a bill of particulars.

BILL OF PARTICULARS IN CRIMINAL CASES TRIAL

The defense argued that without knowing what the Commonwealth actually alleged the defendant did, they would be unable to effectively prepare for trial and to defend against the specific allegations. The defense responded with a motion for a bill of particulars asking the Commonwealth to identify how the drugs in question were allegedly administered to the children.

The Commonwealth also filed notice of its intent to seek the death penalty. The Commonwealth also alleged that the defendant attempted to murder a 16-month-old toddler with fentanyl. The Commonwealth alleged that the defendant caused the death of a three-month-old infant by poisoning the infant with fentanyl. The Commonwealth filed a Bill of Information charging the defendant with first-degree murder and attempted murder. This is an interesting case because requests for bills of particulars are fairly rare in modern litigation, and here, the trial court ordered the Commonwealth to essentially specify its theory of criminal liability for the defendant in advance of trial.

McKnight, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the defendant’s motion for a bill of particulars identifying the mechanism by which the Commonwealth alleged the defendant killed the decedent in a homicide/poisoning case. State codes of CRIMINAL PROCEDURE and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure regulate the use of bills of particulars in criminal prosecutions in their respective courts.The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. As in civil procedure, a bill of particulars is not intended to serve as a discovery device. The defendant is given notice of the offenses with which he or she is charged so that a defense may be prepared and the possibility of surprise or DOUBLE JEOPARDY avoided. It is submitted by the prosecution to the defendant, at the defendant's demand, to provide the facts alleged in the complaint or the indictment that related to the commission of the crime. In CRIMINAL LAW, a bill of particulars serves the same purpose. If, however, the information sought by such a motion is obtainable by use of discovery mechanisms, the motion will be denied. In federal courts the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have replaced the use of a bill of particulars with a motion for a more definite statement. State codes of CIVIL PROCEDURE impose rules that govern the use of bills of particulars in civil actions brought in state court. It is not to be used as a discovery device to learn the evidence or strategy to be used at trial by the opposing party. A bill of particulars is neither a PLEADING nor proof of the facts it states, but, rather, an elucidation of a pleading. It also serves to expedite the orderly progress of judicial proceedings by reducing, if not eliminating, the need for the amendment of ambiguous or vague pleadings. Its function is to give the party who requests it knowledge of what the opposing party has alleged in order to protect the party requesting the bill from surprise and in order to establish the real issues of the action.

A bill can be submitted either voluntarily or pursuant to a court order for compliance with the demand. Although usually requested by a defendant, it can be demanded by a plaintiff if the defendant makes a counterclaim for a setoff or asserts a defense against him or her. In civil actions a bill of particulars is a written demand for the specifics of why an action at law was brought.

Bill of particulars in criminal cases