What is the difference between a Preliminary Hearing vs Grand Jury in Arizona?
Channel: Castillo Law
Date: 01/10/2013

http://castillolawphoenix.com
Start Transcript:
Hi my name is Cindy Castillo with Castillo Law. I'd like to talk to about the difference between a preliminary hearing and a grand jury proceeding. 
There are many circumstances in which your case might come to the court in a status conference/preliminary hearing stage. Under that scenario usually the county attorney has reviewed your case and determined that they are going to make a preliminary offer to you at an early stage. Rather than taking the route of going to trial. In the event that you have received the status conference/preliminary hearing. What that generally means if you request a preliminary hearing is this: an officer or a witness will need to come in and present information to a commissioner, and sometimes a judge with respect to the charge and any information that they have that you've actually committed the crime. Now what is needed in a preliminary hearing context is for the officer to present sufficient information, basically a reasonable person standard, that a crime in fact was committed and that you are likely the person that committed that crime. 

Usually you get a preliminary hearing if this is a class IV or class V or class VI in Maricopa County. If your case is charged as either a class I class II or class III typically the county attorney's office is not going to waste their time on a preliminary hearing. Instead what they're going to do is send that information over to a grand jury proceeding. 

What a grand jury proceeding is is it basically is a panel of approximately 14 grand jurors who have been selected to make a finding that there is probable cause that you committed a crime and that in fact a crime was committed. Now this grand jury will have information about what is needed for a is certain type of offense, and then an officer or a witness will be brought in with the county attorney. The county attorney will ask the officer or the witness information in front of the grand jury, and if they are presented with sufficient information to make that finding of probable cause and typically you're going to be indicted. 

The grand jury can ask questions. In some circumstances they can ask if you can appear and testify before the grand jury. If this is a situation you should always speak with your attorney and determine whether or not you might be able to present some information to a grand jury that might be helpful in your case. 

That's pretty much the difference in a preliminary hearing and a grand jury. 

With respect to the preliminary hearing if the Commissioner has determined that there is sufficient evidence to go forward then you typically will end up in a situation where you are going back before another commissioner or judge and arraign for the charges. Again with respect to the grand jury, same situation, if the grand jury has determined that you have committed the offense by probable cause. Then you will again before the judge or commissioner for an arraignment and they will inter a plea of not guilty on your behalf and determine whether or not you need either a public defender or if you've hired a private attorney. 

If you are in this situation feel free to contact me I offer free consultations.
End Transcript
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