Short answer. Before a case is filed in court, the petition to suspend goes to the prosecutor's office or the court conducting preliminary investigation. Once the criminal action is already in court for trial, it must be filed in that same case, at any time before the prosecution rests.
What the law says
A petition for suspension of the criminal action based upon the pendency of a prejudicial question in a civil action may be filed in the office of the prosecutor or the court conducting the preliminary investigation. When the criminal action has been filed in court for trial, the petition to suspend shall be filed in the same criminal action at any time before the prosecution rests.
Rule 111, Section 6 — Suspension by reason of prejudicial question. Read the full provision →
During preliminary investigation, the petition goes to the prosecutor
Before trial has begun, the petition may be filed in the office of the prosecutor or the court conducting the preliminary investigation. At this stage, the case has not yet been filed for trial, so the petition is directed to whichever body currently has the matter — the prosecutor's office handling the investigation, or the investigating court itself.
Getting the petition to the right office at this early stage avoids a wasted filing that has to be redirected before it is even considered.
Once the case is in court for trial, the petition follows it there
The venue shifts once the criminal action moves forward: when the criminal action has been filed in court for trial, the petition to suspend shall be filed in the same criminal action. The petition is no longer a separate filing elsewhere — it becomes part of the same case record already pending before the trial court hearing it.
There is no separate docket or case number for the suspension request; it lives inside the criminal case file itself.
The deadline is tied to when the prosecution rests
Once the case is with the trial court, the petition can be filed at any time before the prosecution rests. This gives the accused a real window that runs through much of the trial itself, but that window closes once the prosecution has finished presenting its evidence — a petition filed after that point simply comes too late.
An accused who believes a prejudicial question exists should raise it well before the prosecution's evidence is complete, not wait until the last possible moment.
Why the two-stage rule matters for the accused
An accused relying on a prejudicial question needs to know which body to approach at the particular stage the criminal case has reached. Filing with the wrong office — the prosecutor after the case has already gone to trial, or the trial court before the case has even been filed there — risks the petition being misdirected or simply not properly considered.