State v. Bard
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In this criminal case, the Supreme Court dismissed Defendant’s appeal from the dismissal of his motion to vacate as moot and remanded the case for further proceedings.
While Defendant’s competency to stand trial was under consideration and his motion to dismiss the charges on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct was pending, the trial court held an ex parte conference with the prosecutor to discuss the alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Defense counsel was not notified of the conference and did not consent to the ex parte communication. The same jurist later found Defendant competent to stand trial, denied Defendant's motion to dismiss, and denied Defendant’s motions to suppress. Defendant then entered a conditional guilty plea. While Defendant’s appeal remained pending, the Supreme Court authorized additional proceedings in the trial court so Defendant could obtain the transcript of the ex parte conference. Defendant then filed a motion to vacate the judgment of conviction and motion for the jurist’s recusal. The jurist recused himself. The court then dismissed Defendant’s motion to vacate. On appeal, the Supreme Court vacated all adjudicatory action undertaken after the ex parte conference and dismissed Defendant’s appeal form the dismissal of the motion to vacate as moot.
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