What is a Preliminary hearing? Las Vegas Criminal Defense Lawyer answers that

In another preliminary hearing, the prosecution and defense will present evidence to a judge who will decide what evidence will be admissible and inadmissible at trial. For example, if the evidence was illegally obtained, the defense may argue that the prosecution should not be able to present the evidence in court. This could lead to a dismissal of the charges, due to insufficient evidence.

Wikipedia defines a Preliminary Hearing as:

“Within some criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing, preliminary examination, evidentiary hearing or probable cause hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecutor, to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial. In the United States, the judge must find that such evidence provides probable cause to believe that the crime was committed by the defendant.

At such a hearing, the defendant may be assisted by counsel; in U.S. jurisdictions, there is a right to counsel at the preliminary hearing.[1] A preliminary hearing is not always required, and its requirement varies by jurisdiction. In the U.S., for example, some states hold these hearings in every criminal case; in others, they are held upon request by the defense, and still others, they are only held in felony cases.[2] If, on the other hand, the defendant is charged with a felony under Federal law, [s]he has the right to an indictment by a grand jury pursuant to the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. At grand jury proceedings, the defendant is not entitled to counsel, and indeed may not even know that a grand jury is considering his or her case.

The conduct of the preliminary hearing as well as the specific rules regarding the admissibility of evidence vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Hearsay is typically allowed. Should the court decide that there is probable cause, a formal charging instrument (called the information in some jurisdictions) will issue; and the prosecution will continue. If the court should find that there is no probable cause, then typically the prosecution will cease.[2] Many jurisdictions, however, allow the prosecution to seek a new preliminary hearing, or even seek a bill of indictment from a grand jury.
Some important questions that such a hearing generally addresses are:
1 Did the alleged crime occur within the court's jurisdiction?
2 Is there probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the crime?
If a judge determines that there is sufficient evidence to believe that the defendant committed the crime, it is said that the defendant is "held to answer" or "bound over" (in U.S. jurisdictions).[2]

In some jurisdictions, after the court holds a defendant to answer, the court schedules an arraignment, while in other jurisdictions the arraignment precedes the preliminary hearing. The prosecutor files a new pleading with the court (sometimes called an "information") and the defendant can enter a plea at the arraignment. If that plea is not guilty, a trial normally follows and the court sets a trial date at the arraignment or preliminary hearing, depending on which comes later.””

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Las Vegas, NV 89160
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