Things You Need To Know About Preliminary Hearings

Before the actual court hearing, most people will have to go through a preliminary hearing, which can be basically described as a “trial before the actual trial”. During the preliminary hearing, the judge will not be determining, whether you are guilty or not. Instead, he will decide if there is enough evidence to put you up for the trial in the first place. This is when the judge will use the “probable cause” standards that will allow him to find out if the evidence gathered by the government is solid enough to be presented to the jury.

The judge will be listening to the case evidence presented by the prosecutor. The prosecutor’s job will be to demonstrate enough evidence to send the defendant to actual trial. Therefore, he will be using physical evidence and calling out witnesses to testify in order to prove the need for the trial. On the other hand, the defendant’s criminal lawyer will need to do his very best in order to convince the judge that the evidence is not ample enough and that this particular case cannot be sent to trial. He can also use the assistance of witnesses or physical evidence in order to make the judge reconsider. This is actually a crucial point, at which the fate of the defendant will literally be decided.Of course, not every case will go through a preliminary hearing. In some instances, the hearing will only take place if a serious felony was committed. Besides, a reasonable jury may also be involved to decide, whether or not the case is going to the actual trial. Furthermore, a plea bargain may resolve the case prior to the preliminary hearing, which is also a genuine possibility.

One will also need to keep in mind that the rules of preliminary hearings actually differ from state to state, due to specific jurisdictions. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that this is the one real chance to avoid the trial whatsoever to begin with. If the judge or the reasonable jury will not find enough evidence for the case, there will be no need to face trial. Therefore, if you wish to stay out of trouble and would genuinely like to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, make sure to find a truly professional criminal defense attorney Los Angeles local expert for the case. Indeed, only an experienced lawyer will be able to resolve the matter quickly and efficiently. State appointed attorneys may not do the trick, due to their lack of time or devotion. It is crucial to hire a lawyer, whom you will be able to fully trust.

Only a competent attorney will have the ability to persuade the court to close the case due to the lack of evidence. Hence, it is vital to get in touch with an expert prior to a preliminary hearing. Keep in mind – you will not get another chance to avoid trial and this is the perfect opportunity to defend your rights and to prove your innocence. You can use the services of the attorney appointed to you by the state. However, in this case, you may risk losing the preliminary hearing and will head straight to trial. This is not saying that all state attorneys are incompetent – they simply do not have enough time to review the case as well as all the evidence and will leave you defenseless against the prosecutor. Surely, the choice is yours, but if you would like to avoid trial and wish to do so in the most effective manner possible, we simply cannot help but recommend you to contact a qualified lawyer at the earliest opportunity. This will be the wise thing to do and you will be able to save a lot of your time, efforts, money and nerves. Save yourself the trouble and win the preliminary hearing using professional assistance of a great Los Angeles criminal defense attorney.