9.64 Dismissal of indictment

The prosecutor in a criminal case can drop the charges against someone, but only if the judge agrees to it. This applies whether the case started with an indictment, an information, a complaint, or a citation.

There's a time limit on when this can happen. In a jury trial, the prosecutor must dismiss the case before the jury is sworn in. In a case without a jury, the dismissal must happen before the first witness takes the stand and is sworn in to testify.

Once the trial reaches these points, the prosecutor loses the ability to simply dismiss the charges this way. This rule gives prosecutors a window to end a case early, but it closes once the trial officially gets underway.