The Deadline on a Motion
Ohio Crim.R. 12 — thirty five days, or seven before trial, whichever is earlier
A great many pages on this site end by saying that whether something was lawful is decided later, by a judge, on a record. That sentence has a deadline attached to it, and the deadline is earlier than almost anybody expects.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
- All pretrial motions, with the two exceptions the rule names, shall be made within thirty-five days after arraignment or seven days before trial, whichever is earlier.
- The court in the interest of justice may extend the time for making pretrial motions.
- A motion to suppress evidence is a pretrial motion and runs on this timetable.
Whichever is earlier, not later. The jury demand in the trial rule runs on whichever is later, ten days before trial or three days after notice of the date. This one runs on whichever is earlier. Two rules in the same set of rules, both counted against a trial date, pointing in opposite directions. Reading one and assuming the other works the same way is how a filing arrives on time for the wrong rule.
Missing it is a waiver in the rule's own words. Failure to raise a defense or objection, or to make a request that has to be made before trial, at the time the court set under this division or before any extension it granted, constitutes waiver of it. The rule then adds that the court for good cause shown may grant relief from the waiver. That is a door somebody has to be let through rather than a right they keep.
This rule and the plea rule are two halves of the same problem. A no contest plea preserves the right to argue on appeal that the trial court erred in ruling on a pretrial motion. A motion nobody filed produces no ruling, so there is nothing left for the plea to preserve. The careful plea and the missed deadline cancel each other out, and they sit a few rules apart in the same book.
“What was the arraignment date in this case, and has a motion to suppress been filed?”
Whether there is a suppression argument to make at all, what it would be, and whether a local rule sets a different date are the questions that decide whether any of this matters. Local practice varies and courts set their own schedules under the rule. A licensed Ohio attorney, well before day thirty-five, is who answers them.
Sources for this section (5)
- Ohio Crim.R. 12 — Pretrial motions, including motions to suppress evidence
- Ohio Crim.R. 16 — Discovery and inspection, what each side owes the other, and when
- Ohio Crim.R. 23 — Trial by jury or by the court, and the written demand a petty offense needs
- Ohio Crim.R. 11 — Pleas, and what each one admits
- Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) — Evidence from an unlawful search is excluded in state court
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.