Answer
A prejudicial question is an issue in a previously instituted civil case that is so intimately related to a later criminal case that its resolution determines whether the criminal case may proceed. When one exists, the criminal action is suspended until the civil case is resolved. It is governed by Article 36 of the Civil Code and Section 7 of Rule 111 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure.
There are two elements: (1) the previously instituted civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised in the subsequent criminal action, and (2) the resolution of that issue determines whether the criminal action may proceed. A crucial requirement under the 2000 Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure is that the civil action must have been instituted BEFORE the criminal action. A petition to suspend the criminal case on this ground may be filed with the office of the prosecutor or with the court where the criminal case is pending.
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