Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: drug dealing

It means that he is being charged with a felony, or multiple felonies. If he was only charged with a misdemeanor, the case would stay in district court, and not be transferred to circuit court.

The penalties for felonies are generally more strict than for misdemeanors, so yes, being charged with a felony is more serious than a misdemeanor.

Re: drug dealing

"Bound over" is a term that means that the felony case is moving from the district court (the entryway for all criminal cases) to the circuit court (which has jurisdiction to adjudicate felonies).

Plain English definitions to most of these legal terms can be found at www.prosecutingattorney.info ... then click on the Legal Definitions button.

A bind-over can occur through the defendant voluntarily waiving his/her right to a preliminary examination (a probable-cause hearing) in the district court, OR by a district judges decision after a preliminary examination that there is probable cause evidence that the felony crime was committed and probable cause that the defendant committed it.

Any "hammer" would have to come down in circuit court because THAT court has authority to take a plea or do a trial on a felony, and to sentence on a felony.

Re: drug dealing

Yes, because any cocaine possession is a felony and possession with intent to deliver is worse than mere possession. For more info contact me at www.kliszlaw.com. Tim Klisz