Preliminary hearings are the closest thing to a jury trial BEFORE the actual jury trial. However, there are many differences between a preliminary hearing and trial. One of the most notables differences is the burden of proof at each hearing. San Diego criminal lawyer Ally Keegan explains in this video.
If you have any questions on your case, or would like to set up a consultation, call us at 619-295-3555
Law Office of David P. Shapiro
3500 5th Avenue #304
San Diego, CA 92103
619-295-3555
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Transcript:
- Hi, my name is Ally Keegan, and I'm a criminal defense attorney at the Law Office of David Shapiro in San Diego where we help good people regain control of their future when charged with a crime. Let's talk about preliminary hearings or preliminary examinations. A lot of times we use them synonymously, but in California, you're gonna hear about a preliminary hearing if you're charged with a felony offense. Now, preliminary hearings have a different burden of proof than you would have at trial. Most people in the US understand that when you go to trial, you should not be convicted of a crime or found guilty unless there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that you did in fact commit the crime. Preliminary hearings however, are different. They're preliminary, so they happen ahead of trial. And if you are a past client of mine, you've absolutely gotten this whole breakdown from me before. But you'll understand that preliminary hearings are essentially a constitutional safeguard that we have in the California legal system before bringing people to trial. And that's because in theory, if you are arrested for a crime, you are cited for a crime, law enforcement was supposed to have probable cause to believe that you actually committed it. And probable cause is essentially reasonable grounds to think that a crime was committed, and you were the one that perpetrated it. However, if law enforcement messes up, and they were supposed to have probable cause to arrest you and they didn't actually have that, we don't wanna roll the dice on taking you to trial and possibly having you convicted if you shouldn't have been charged to begin with. So what happens in California when you have a preliminary hearing is the prosecution puts on enough of their evidence just to establish probable cause to show that there's reasonable grounds to believe that the crime was committed, and it was you that did it. And they have to do this for every charge in the criminal complaint in a felony case. That is a very low burden, and that is something, especially when we're talking about celebrity cases and high profile political cases, some people will see the news that someone had a preliminary hearing, and they're proceeding to trial, and there will be outrage about the fact that there's not enough evidence, or of course, there's so much evidence on both sides of the aisle when in fact people are confusing the burden of proof at trial with the burden of proof at a preliminary hearing or a prelim as we call it for short. So at the prelim, all the prosecution is doing is establishing enough evidence to show that essentially you were properly charged with those offenses and that it is okay to take you to trial on those charges. So there's gonna be another video that we have you should check out as far as even if there's probable cause for certain offenses you're charged with, other benefits you can get and your defense team can get out of a prelim and the purpose that it can serve for you in the defense side, but understand at the outset that it's a very low burden. And in order to have charges dismissed at a preliminary hearing, you're gonna have to establish the fact that there was not probable cause or reasonable grounds for you to have been charged with them to begin with. So it's a very low bar for the prosecution to meet. They don't have to put on all of their witnesses that they would at trial. And additional types of evidence may be admissible or the rules of evidence may be different at a prelim. But make sure regardless if you are charged with a serious felony offense that whoever is in your corner, whoever is defending you at that period of your life is locally experienced, highly qualified, and most importantly, is walking you through these issues so you understand what you're actually up against, and you're not in the dark about your own case and your own future as it's happening. So if you or someone you love is being charged with a felony offense in California and in San Diego specifically, feel free to give us a call. You can make an appointment to speak with a member of our team who will walk you through next steps. Our phone number is 619-295-3555.
