When you are involved in a personal injury trial, and after you have finished running through all of your witnesses and all your evidence at trial, it is possible for the defense lawyer to inform the judge that he moves to dismiss this case, even before they put up a single witness.
Move to Dismiss the Case
This is possible in an accident case, medical malpractice, or wrongful death case. When you are done putting up all the witnesses to prove your case and to show that you are more likely right than wrong, the judge will then turn to the defense counsel and will tell him to call his first witness. At this moment, the defense can tell the judge that he moves to dismiss this case, even before he has a single witness take the stand.
What are Grounds for Dismissing the Case?
The judge will ask the defense attorney, what grounds he has to make this request to throw out the case. The judge can then take any of the following decisions:
- He will deny the defense’s request immediately
- He will agree to the request and dismiss the case
- He might ask the defense counsel to produce legal papers on the arguments they have just raised, and he will ask the plaintiff’s lawyer for reply briefs the next day, which will be in reply to the defense’s arguments.
In the last instance, the defense attorney will prepare these documents and submit it to the court. The plaintiff’s lawyer will also get a copy of these documents so that he has the opportunity to reply to the arguments in writing. After considering the defense’s legal papers, and the replies provided by the plaintiff’s lawyer, the judge will make a decision.
The Judge could put off making the Decision until the Jury has Passed a Verdict
The judge could deny the request of the defense, or he might let the case go to the jury and then decide on this issue after the fact. This means the judge will decide on this matter after the jury has deliberated on this case and come back with a verdict. In such instance, the judge does not have to make a decision immediately; instead, he will let the jury make a decision about who is right or wrong. The judge will consider the jury’s decision, how much damages the jury has awarded, and then he can rule on the defense’s request on whether to dismiss the case. Hence, even if the jury has ruled in your favor and rewarded substantial damages, you may not be able to obtain a single cent, if the judge dismisses your case, based on the earlier request made by the defense. This is highly unlikely, but it can happen, especially if the defense has made valid legal points to dismiss the case.
