Rule 22 Time of Motion to Transfer

If you want to ask for a different judge or a different location for your trial, you usually need to do it early. The normal deadline is at or before your arraignment, which is the court hearing where you're formally told the charges against you and you enter a plea.

If you miss that window, you can still file the request later, but only if you have a good reason for the delay. You'll need to explain to the judge why you didn't ask sooner. As long as you show good cause, you can file this motion any time before your trial starts.

This rule exists so that these kinds of requests get raised early, before the case moves too far along. But it also gives people a fair chance to raise the issue later if something comes up that couldn't have been known or handled at the start.