Title 29 — Judicial Procedure, Criminal

A continuance, within the meaning of this chapter, is the postponement of a cause for any period of time.

In a criminal prosecution, the state and the defendant each shall have the right to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial in a criminal case in which the charging instrument contains a charge of a felony offense under section 19-03.1-23 or under chapter 12.1-20 is for the t…

The court, upon a showing of sufficient cause therefor by either party, may direct the trial of a cause to be postponed to another day in the same term or to the next term.

Any cause that would be considered adequate for a postponement of a civil action is sufficient in a criminal action.

An application for a continuance may be made when a criminal action is called for trial, or at any time previous thereto.

An application for a continuance on the ground that a witness is absent must show: 1. That the applicant has used due diligence to prepare for the trial; 2. The nature of the diligence used; 3. The name and residence of the absent witness; 4. What the applicant expects or believe…

An application for a continuance must be in writing unless otherwise ordered by the court. Such application must specify the ground or grounds upon which it is based and must be filed by the state's attorney or counsel for the defendant, as the case may be.

The party applying for a continuance may file affidavits in support of that application and counter affidavits may be received or denied as the court may direct.

Whenever a continuance is granted, the reasons therefor must be entered in the minutes of the court.

When there are several defendants and a continuance is granted on the application of one or more but not of all defendants, the trial of the other defendants must proceed unless the court otherwise directs.