Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If you are already at PreLim without having counsel, and not even knowing what the hearing is for, you should rethink your position. PreLim is a mini trial to determine if enough evidence exists to bind you over for trial. If you get serious about hiring counsel to defend you in this, feel free to contact me.

The preliminary hearing is where the prosecutor tries to persuade the court that there is enough evidence to potentially convict the defendant at trial. This does not mean the prosecutor must persuade the judge that the defendant is guilty. Instead, she need only show that a reasonable jury might find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt based upon the evidence. Even if a conviction seems unlikely, as long as it is at least plausible on the evidence presented the prosecutor will satisfy her burden and the court will order the defendant bound over for trial. But if the prosecutor fails to meet this relatively modest burden, the court will order the case dismissed.

If the defendant is facing multiple charges, the prosecutor may be able to satisfy her burden as to some of them but not as to others. The court would then dismiss the charges she has not adequately supported but bind the defendant over for trial on the remaining charges.

The judge at a preliminary hearing does not weigh the prosecution's evidence against the defendant's. All that matters is whether the prosecutor can establish a threshold level of proof, not whether the defendant can successfully rebut it. Defense counsel generally don't reveal their evidence at the prelim because doing so would only educate the prosecutor about their case without providing any benefit to the client.

As Mr. Nelson says, you should have an attorney by now. If you don't, get one immediately.

Good luck.