
Gainesville Criminal Defense Lawyer
8. The Preliminary Hearing
The preliminary hearing is also sometimes called a committal hearing or probable cause hearing. This hearing is conducted in the Magistrate Court. The prosecutor must present evidence at this hearing sufficient to convince a judge that there is enough credible evidence to allow the charges to go forward to the next level. If not, the charges will be dismissed. However, it is a low threshold of evidence required to keep the charges alive. The government still must make a showing. They do this by calling at least one witness to testify, usually the arresting officer and that’s where we make a strong first strike. We tape record the hearing. We cross-examine the officer — probing weaknesses in the evidence, and contemplating the best defense strategies. If the planets align, we could win the case at this hearing! Unfortunately, the government has a right to revive a case that is dismissed at the preliminary hearing. They do so by presenting the case to the Grand Jury. If the Grand Jury believes there is enough evidence, the case will be indicted and put on a trial calendar. The CLC attorneys in the Gainesville area are highly qualified for any preliminary hearing and are available at any time.
Preliminary Hearing Attorney in GA
The Fifth Rule of Criminal Defense
The fifth rule of criminal defense is: remember that it’s all about relationships. More cases are won and lost based on the relationship that the defense attorney has with the officer, prosecutor, and judge. If the officer, prosecutor, and judge hate your lawyer, how do you think they’re going to feel about you? A great criminal defense attorney will craft deep professional relationships over decades and deploy those bridges to help his client safely to the other side of this nightmare.
Expert Criminal Lawyer
At CLC we are know in the Gainesville areas as one of the top law firms around. We take great pride in assisting all of our clients to the fullest of out abilities. We are able to walk through this process with you step by step to eliminate any confusion any court appearances, paper work, or legal matters. At CLC, we understand the importance of quality services and are available to assist you with all of your criminal defense needs whether you have been convicted of a felony, arrested, accused of drug possession, weapon possession and countless other legal issues.