Pretrial

Pretrial Criminal Defense

Between arraignment and trial, the judge may hold “pretrial hearings” to decide some matters. This is the time when so-called “technicalities” may be argued by lawyers.

Many matters could be argued at trial while the full jury and all witnesses wait. Of course, that could lead to extensive delays. Complex legal arguments and facts may take a long time to discuss and consider.

A separate hearing before trial is called a pretrial hearing. It may involve nothing more than legal arguments, but it could include witness testimony.

Pretrial hearings can make jury trials run more smoothly and even prevent some trials from happening.

For example, a judge can hold a pretrial hearing to decide whether to throw out evidence police obtained illegally, perhaps because the police made an arrest without probable cause.

Illegally obtained evidence should not be heard by the jury, so the judge must determine whether evidence was illegally obtained before it can be allowed in front of the jury.

Another important function of pretrial hearings is “discovery”, a process in which the judge can order the prosecutor to give evidence to the accused. Sometimes, prosecutors say they have provided all the evidence, but that usually is not true because they may not even know of the existence of some evidence.

Generally, a judge is not required to routinely set pretrial hearings, but most do. Some judges set deadlines to file pretrial motions in every case, while others require the prosecutor or defense attorney to initiate hearings when needed.

Pretrial hearings can also set ground rules for trial, such as determining whether a witness must appear or whether witnesses can say certain words.

There is no end to what may be considered in a pretrial hearing. It depends only upon the originality of the attorneys and the willingness of a judge to hear the argument.

If you need a criminal defense attorney for your pretrial hearing in South Texas, contact us today.