§ 136.070 Postponement of trial

Here's a plain-English summary:

If a criminal case is ready to go to trial because there's a factual dispute to settle, either side can ask the judge to delay it. The defendant needs to explain the reason in a sworn written statement (called an affidavit). The prosecutor (district attorney) can also ask for a delay, but doesn't need a sworn statement, just needs to explain the reason to the court.

The judge decides if the reason given is good enough to justify pushing back the trial date. If the judge agrees, the trial gets postponed for a reasonable amount of time. This isn't an unlimited delay. It's meant to give whoever needs more time a fair chance to prepare, without letting the case drag on forever.

This rule matters because trials often need to happen on schedule, but sometimes real problems come up. Maybe a witness is unavailable, new evidence just surfaced, or someone needs more time to prepare their side. This rule gives both the defense and the prosecution a way to ask for that extra time, as long as they can show the judge a real reason for it.