§ 136.145 Setting of court dates when presence of victim required

When a judge needs to set or change a court date that requires the victim to be there, the judge has to think about the victim's schedule before picking that date. The judge can't just pick a date without checking in on this first.

To do this, the judge will ask the district attorney two things. First, has anyone told the victim about the date being considered? Second, does that date actually work for the victim? The district attorney needs to have answers to both questions.

This rule exists so victims aren't left out of the process or forced to deal with court dates that don't work for them. It puts the responsibility on the district attorney to stay in contact with the victim and communicate their availability to the court.