State v. Foat

In Re: VIRGINIA FOAT, applying for Supervisory and Remedial writ and STAY ORDER to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, Number 83-K-568, Parish of Jefferson; 24th Judicial District Court, Number 83-169 Granted and remanded to the Court of Appeal for expedited argument and opinion on the merits. A pre-trial application for supervisory writs, which presents, on a complete record developed at a well-tried hearing, a serious, potentially meritorious issue that may be dispositive of the case, should be entertained on the merits. We have not followed the federal policy against review of pre-trial rulings in criminal cases expressed in United States v. MacDonald, 435 U.S. 850 , 98 S.Ct. 1547 , 56 L.Ed.2d 18 (1978) and relied on by the Court of Appeal herein. Rather, prompted by a desire to bring criminal cases to a conclusion as expeditiously as possible, this Court has adopted a policy favoring the exercise of supervisory jurisdiction and interlocutory appellate review of pre-trial rulings on issues which may be dispositive of the case. This procedure promotes the fair, prompt and efficient administration of justice. For a case indicative of this Court’s policy, see State v. Nowell, 363 So.2d 523 (La.1978).