At the initial appearance, the judge set a date for a preliminary hearing and decided your bail or release conditions. If you were released from custody at the initial appearance, the preliminary hearing was set for about twenty (20) days; if you are held on a bond, the preliminary hearing was scheduled for ten (10) days. Before any felony case may be transferred to the Superior Court and a trial date set, there must be a finding of "probable cause." This simply means that the prosecutor, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, must present some evidence that a crime was committed and that you committed it. The term "some evidence" does not mean a trial. The preliminary hearing is not a trial.
There are two (2) different ways for the prosecutor to prove "probable cause" and move the case to Superior Court
- a preliminary hearing or
- an indictment by a grand jury
The prosecutor alone gets to pick which he or she wants to do. The preliminary hearing would take place in Justice Court. The defendant and defense attorney would be there, and would be able to cross-examine (or ask questions of) the state's witnesses. A judge would make the final decision about whether there is probable cause. This is what usually happens in Maricopa County.
In the alternative, the prosecutor can take criminal cases to the grand jury, which meets in secret. Neither the defendant nor his attorney, nor even the judge is there. Only the prosecutor, his witness(es), the nine (9) to sixteen (16) grand jurors and a court reporter.
Once the grand jury meets on a case and returns an indictment, there will be no preliminary hearing. The next court date, then, would be an arraignment...
Contact Vladimir Gagic at his Phoenix office today.
