Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Hello.

I have criminal felony charges against me for grand theft and credit card fraud. I am a co-defendant. I surrendered to the court which was my arraignment per the court's calendar. I had to pretrials. The first was because the DA did not provide discovery. Discovery was provided for the 2nd pretrial. Now I am scheduled for a preliminary hearing. I asked prior "what the purpose of a preliminary hearing and what should I expect.?"

I was informed by a response from this website from a lawyer that DA will present evidence to persuade the court that I should be convicted of the charges; therefore, "bind the defendant over for trial for the charges."

What does "bind the defendant over for trial for the charges" mean? Does that mean my case will surely go to trial immediately after the preliminary hearing? When does the plea bargaining begin? How soon will the trial date be scheduled? When do I get to present my evidence that I should not be convicted of the charges? Does that take place at the preliminary especially since my evidence will contradict the charges being placed against me.

Please Help. Thank You

bind the defendant over for trial on the remaining charges


Asked on 8/19/09, 5:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

You appear to still be looking for someone to give you a magic incantation that will allow your to learn everything you need to know to practice criminal law. Explaining what these hearings and terms mean is not providing you anything useful to you. If you intend to represent yourself, I suggest you go camp out at the Law Library and start studying criminal law and criminal procedure. They are year long courses in law school. The prosecutor already took them, and has at least several years practice at convicting pro pers. If you get serious about legal help, feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 8/19/09, 7:35 pm


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