{"id":1647,"date":"2020-12-07T16:10:10","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T16:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/?p=1647"},"modified":"2020-12-07T16:10:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T16:10:10","slug":"what-does-a-lawyer-do-at-a-preliminary-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/what-does-a-lawyer-do-at-a-preliminary-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does a Lawyer Do at a Preliminary Hearing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When a person is arrested, the first court hearing they will have regarding their charges is called an arraignment, or first appearance<\/em>. This hearing is usually held within 24 to 48 hours of the arrest, and generally takes place while the defendant is still detained in jail. The purpose of an arraignment is for a judge to explain the criminal charges to the defendant, allow the defendant to plea if they choose to, determine if they are eligible for bail or not, and assign a public defender to their case if they have not already hired a lawyer by this time. Once the defendant is bailed out of jail, another hearing is scheduled, which is often confused with arraignments. This following hearing is called an initial hearing, or preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn more about the facts surrounding preliminary hearings, including a defense lawyer\u2019s role in it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Indianapolis
Indianapolis Indiana Criminal Defense Law Firm 317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What to Expect at a Preliminary Hearing<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A preliminary hearing is typically scheduled within 20 to 30 days of an arrest, and only lasts a couple of hours. It takes place in an open court with a judge, prosecuting attorney, and the defendant\u2019s attorney in attendance. During this hearing, a judge determines whether or not the Prosecutor has enough probable cause<\/a> to move forward with the criminal charges against a defendant. More or less, a preliminary hearing is an opportunity for the prosecution\u2019s charges to be judicially reviewed and confirmed valid by the magistrate assigned to the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if this hearing is all about the prosecutor and judge, what does a criminal defense attorney do during this time? The answer is incredibly vital to the outcome of a defendant\u2019s rights, freedoms, and future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Criminal Lawyer\u2019s Role at an Initial Hearing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the preliminary hearing, a criminal defense lawyer is already prepared to fight their client\u2019s criminal charges. By this hearing, they have developed a strong and impactful case (if the defendant has hired a good lawyer, that is) that aims to dismiss, reduce, or further analyze a defendant\u2019s charges prior to going to trial. They make sure that any charges brought against their client are not inadmissible, illegal, or without sufficient probable cause. During a preliminary hearing, a criminal defense lawyer will also work their professional magic by cross-examining witnesses, presenting their own evidence to refute the prosecution\u2019s allegations, and set forth any relevant motions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preliminary hearings protect defendants from unjustified, false, or impractical charges by the prosecution. Without a private criminal defense lawyer working your case, you will not get the best possible outcome at your preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A public defender<\/a> simply cannot put in the time, attention, and effort into your criminal case like a private attorney can. Their case loads are too massive, and they have handfuls of cases they deal with in court each and every day. When it comes to serious criminal charges that can impact the rest of your life, and your family\u2019s life, you want to hire an attorney, rather than be appointed one by the courts. The cost of a lawyer is worth avoiding jail time, and\/or the maximum sentence for your criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indianapolis Indiana Criminal Defense You Can Truly Afford<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Call the Law Office of David E. Lewis at 317-636-7514<\/strong> to schedule a free initial consultation<\/a> with aggressive Indiana criminal defense lawyer<\/a> who will stop at nothing to protect your rights and preserve your freedoms. With decades of hands-on experience, you can trust Attorney David E. Lewis to build you a strong and impactful defense against your Indiana criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Indianapolis<\/a>
Schedule a Free Consultation Today!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a person is arrested, the first court hearing they will have regarding their charges is called an arraignment, or first appearance. This hearing is usually held within 24 to 48 hours of the arrest, and generally takes place while … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[1226,5,4,1225,518,1227],"class_list":["post-1647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","category-criminal-law","tag-arraignment","tag-criminal-defense","tag-criminal-law","tag-initial-hearing","tag-preliminary-hearing","tag-prosecution"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1649,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647\/revisions\/1649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}