Skip to main content

US federal district courts, criminal

What is the deadline for motion for a new trial on newly discovered evidence, long-stop?

Motion for a new trial on newly discovered evidence, long-stop is governed by Fed. R. Crim. P. 33(b)(1). This page does not calculate a date. Do not conflate this 3-year outer limit with the appeal-tolling rule. Read the rule text and the noted conditions before relying on any date.

Read why no date is calculated
Period
3 years
Trigger
The verdict or finding of guilty
Rule
Fed. R. Crim. P. 33(b)(1)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure amended through 2025

Source guide · No automated date

Why this page does not calculate a date

Do not conflate this 3-year outer limit with the appeal-tolling rule. FRAP 4(b)(3)(A)(ii) tolls the criminal appeal period for a newly-discovered-evidence Rule 33 motion ONLY if it is made no later than 14 days after entry of the judgment. A motion filed in year two is timely under Rule 33 but has no effect on the appeal clock.

"Any motion for a new trial grounded on newly discovered evidence must be filed within 3 years after the verdict or finding of guilty."

Fed. R. Crim. P. 33(b)(1)
Read Rule 33

Which date starts the 3 years period?

The period runs from the verdict or finding of guilty.

Count forward from the trigger event. Confirm the event on the docket or in the service record before entering a date.

"Any motion for a new trial grounded on newly discovered evidence must be filed within 3 years after the verdict or finding of guilty."

Fed. R. Crim. P. 33(b)(1)
Read Rule 33
Use the event the rule names.

This period runs from the specific event in the cited rule. Do not substitute a nearby date such as a hearing, a courtesy copy or the day you first learned of it.

Which date do I enter?

How are the 3 years counted?

  1. Exclude the day of the trigger event.
  2. Count every following day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
  3. If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, continue to the next day that is not one of those.

Exclude the trigger day and count calendar days under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a).

If the final day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, Rule 45(a) carries it to the next open day.

Rule 45(a) mirrors the civil counting rule: an inaccessible clerk’s office is excluded from the last day and electronic filing ends at midnight in the court’s time zone. The national calculation does not confirm those local facts.

Read Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)
National rules do not establish local facts.

The calculation gives the ordinary national-rule date. Check relevant holidays, the court’s accessibility and its filing cutoff separately.

Review the filing checklist

Why no worked calculation is shown

No date is calculated on this page because the encoded provision could not be reduced to one fixed period. Read the rule text, the starting event and the noted branches, then confirm the period in the current rules before relying on any date.

ResultNo automatic date is published for this provision.

Do not conflate this 3-year outer limit with the appeal-tolling rule. FRAP 4(b)(3)(A)(ii) tolls the criminal appeal period for a newly-discovered-evidence Rule 33 motion ONLY if it is made no later than 14 days after entry of the judgment. A motion filed in year two is timely under Rule 33 but has no effect on the appeal clock.

Can an order, motion or extension change the deadline?

Extensions
Extendable under FRCrP 45(b). Where an appeal is pending the court may not grant the motion until the appellate court remands.
Orders and local rules
A scheduling order, stipulation approved by the court, standing order or local rule can set a different period and controls over the national default.
Read Rule 33
  • Extendable under FRCrP 45(b). Where an appeal is pending the court may not grant the motion until the appellate court remands.
  • A stipulation, scheduling order, standing order or local rule can set a different period and controls over the national default.
  • Do not conflate this 3-year outer limit with the appeal-tolling rule. FRAP 4(b)(3)(A)(ii) tolls the criminal appeal period for a newly-discovered-evidence Rule 33 motion ONLY if it is made no later than 14 days after entry of the judgment. A motion filed in year two is timely under Rule 33 but has no effect on the appeal clock.

What should I check before filing?

These checks help you review the result. They do not activate a calendar date or certify that the deadline applies.

Common questions

Find answers about when this 3 years period starts, how it is counted, what can change it and how to keep your calculation.

Starting the clock

Does the clock start on the verdict or finding of guilty, or when I first learned of it?

The period runs from the verdict or finding of guilty as the rule defines it, not from the day you read about it, received a courtesy copy or attended a hearing. Use the date shown on the docket or in the service record.

Read Rule 33

Do I add three days because the document arrived by mail?

Not to this period. Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(c) concerns periods measured after service. This period runs from the verdict or finding of guilty, so no mailing days are added.

Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(c)

Counting days and filing

Which time zone and filing cutoff apply?

Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)(4), electronic filing ends at midnight in the court’s time zone unless a statute, local rule or court order sets a different time. Paper filing ends when the clerk’s office is scheduled to close. This calculator does not verify either fact.

Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)

What if the court is inaccessible on the last day?

Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)(3) extends the period to the first accessible day that is not a weekend or legal holiday when the clerk’s office is inaccessible on the last day. Check the court’s closure notices and orders.

Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)

Extensions and local rules

Can the court extend this deadline?

Extendable under FRCrP 45(b). Where an appeal is pending the court may not grant the motion until the appellate court remands. A request does not itself extend the period, and no discretionary extension is calculated here.

Read Rule 33

Do local rules, standing orders or a scheduling order change the date?

They can. Many courts set their own periods by local rule, standing order or case-specific order, and those control over the national default. This calculator gives the national-rule date only; compare it with any order in the case before relying on it.

Choosing the right calculator

Does this calculator decide whether the rule applies to my case?

No. It calculates a period from the date you provide under the cited rule. It does not decide whether the rule governs your filing, whether an exception applies, or whether the filing has merit. Those questions need separate review.

Can I calculate the deadline without an account?

Yes. Enter the trigger date to see the free national-rule calculation, citation, counting steps and warnings. You can add court context after the result. Missing court review keeps the result provisional.

Results, records and your case

What is included in an Evidence Record?

The retained inputs, result, cited rule, calculation working, warnings and review state. The PDF includes a payload digest and retained-data appendix, and the record can be verified against its fingerprint later. It records the calculation, not a guarantee of legal correctness.

Does saving to a case activate the calendar?

Not automatically. Provisional records remain subject to review. A separately labeled manual date does not alter the original calculation.

Official sources and review

The period and the counting method come from different provisions. The official source is the court’s published rules; the reading links open the rule text at the Legal Information Institute.

Provisions used in this guide
ProvisionPurpose
Fed. R. Crim. P. 33(b)(1)Trigger and period
Fed. R. Crim. P. 45(a)Counting, legal holidays and the last day
Read the official Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Rule record reviewed . Guide sources checked . Next source check .

Published by Deadline Engine. This tool calculates the ordinary period under the cited rule. It does not decide whether the rule applies, obtain an extension or file anything for you.

Cookie preferences

Deadline Engine uses necessary cookies for authentication and security. You can choose whether we may load Plausible Analytics to measure aggregate site use. We do not use advertising or marketing tracking. You can change this any time from the footer. Read the Cookie Policy.