A record of the preliminary hearing is available to counsel for the trial. The voire dire is a pre-trial or trial within a trial hearing for the specific purpose of determining admissibility. It may held and is often held with respect to the admissibility of seized documents to test whether the seizure was proper and therefore whether those documents are admissible. This is also common in respect of wire tap evidence which was obtained ex parte on the basis of affidavit material that can later be challenged before the trial judge. Issues such as informed consent or privilege on seized documents, or the accuracy of the affidavit are there brought in issue.
All trials are difficult to schedule.
Lengthy, complex trials take even more time and difficulty in scheduling. I begin by asking Prosecution Counsel about two to three weeks before the trial to prepare a list of witnesses, the order in which the witnesses will be called, a time estimate of how long the direct examination of that witness will take, documents, etc. This estimate is sent to the defence, who are asked to provide a time estimate on the length of time for cross examination of each witness, what objections they plan to take at trial, if any, on the admissibility of the evidence and if they are prepared to disclose what evidence they propose to call and how long it will take. This is done without any commitment on the part of counsel. The total time plus an allowance for contingencies establishes a reasonable estimate for the length of the trial.