Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Re: Crimianl case

The prosecution must turn over all so-called Brady or exculpatory evidence to the defense prior to trial. If "by just word of mouth", you mean one or more person's accusatory words with respect to a particular defendant, the answer is yes, it's quite possible, since all that's required for an arrest is merely probable cause, a minimal evidentiary standard which is not even the equivalent of the proponderance of the evidence standard used in civil trials. And, in considering the issue of bail and pretrial release, if the judge concludes the arrestee represents a flight risk or a danger to the community, bail will normally be denied and the defendant will continued to be held pending trial.