§ 22-3503 Arrest of judgment without motion.

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

If a judge notices a serious legal problem with a case, they don't have to wait for someone to file a formal motion to fix it. The judge can cancel or "arrest" the judgment on their own.

This applies when there's a real legal flaw, like the court not having authority to hear the case or the charges not actually describing a crime. If the judge spots one of these problems and knows it would force them to cancel the judgment anyway if someone asked, they can just go ahead and do it without waiting for a request.

This gives judges the power to correct major mistakes right away instead of letting a flawed conviction or judgment stand simply because no one filed the right paperwork.