Rule 34 Arrest of judgment

If you've been found guilty of a crime, either by a jury verdict, a judge's ruling, or your own guilty plea, you have the right to ask the court to cancel that guilty finding under certain conditions. This is called a motion in arrest of judgment. The court must grant this motion if it turns out the charges against you never actually described a real crime, or if the court never had the legal authority to hear your case in the first place.

This motion has a strict deadline. You must file it within ten days after the guilty verdict, finding, or plea. The court can give you a bit more time, but only if it decides to extend the deadline while those original ten days are still running. Once the ten days pass without an extension, you lose the chance to make this argument.

This rule exists to catch serious legal problems early. If the paperwork charging you with a crime was flawed from the start, or if the court had no business hearing your case, the conviction shouldn't stand. But because the deadline is so short, anyone considering this option needs to act fast and talk to their attorney right away after a guilty verdict or plea.