Rule 15.5 Effect of determination of motion.

When a judge grants a motion because there was a problem with how the charges were filed or worded, the case doesn't just go away for good. The judge will let the defendant go free, unless the prosecutor asks to either keep the defendant in custody or keep them on pretrial release for a set amount of time. This gives the state a chance to file the charges correctly.

If the judge decides against the defendant on this kind of motion, the case moves forward and the defendant has to enter a plea, if they haven't already.

This rule also protects the state's ability to refile charges even if time is passing. Normally, criminal charges have to be filed within a certain deadline, called a statute of limitations. But once charges are filed, that clock stops running while the case is being sorted out. It only starts again if the judge throws out the charges due to a filing defect, and even then, only if the judge decides the state failed to act in good faith and the delay actually hurt the defendant's ability to defend themselves. In most cases, this means the state still has time to fix the problem and refile, even if the original deadline has passed.