What happens in a preliminary hearing for criminal charges?

Question

Also, what might the sentence be for someone charged with procurement of a child for child pornography after 2 former felony convictions in the state of OK?

I'm not personally involved with this thank goodness. I know the person, and hope they throw the proverbial book at him. The preliminary hearing was waived, and was curious what that would have done. :)

He was formerly convicted of child molestation, failure to register as a sex offender.

Answer 1

Auntb is partially correct, but what she is actually referring to is Arraignment.

Preliminary hearing is a proceeding in which a lower court, (or sometimes a division of the district or circuit court) determines if there are sufficient grounds to bind the defendant over for trial. In felony cases, the constitution provides that no person shall be held for trial except upon indictment, and this procedure satisfies that requirement. The preliminary hearing is skipped if a grand jury has already indicted the defendnat, as a grand jury has already determined that there is sufficient evidence to charge the defendant.

In many cases, if a guilty plea is the intended outcome of the case, then the preliminary hearing is waived, and the matter is immediately bound over for arraignment. If the preliminary hearing is waived, then the state presents evidence and witnesses sufficient to convince a just to believe that there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that the defendant committed the crime. Note: The standard of proof here is MUCH lower.. its only probable cause, NOT beyond a reasonable doubt.

After arraignment, the matter is then set for further disposition, which can include a plea, or a full trial of the matter.

It would be inappropriate to speculate on the sentence, because as Auntb said, there are too many factors involved. These include, but aren't limited to: prior history, the situation of the crime, Oklahoma law, and the attitude of the local court and even the judge involved.

Your best option is to consult an attorney licensed to practice in Oklahoma who practices criminal law in that jurisdiction. They can give you a better idea of possible sentences. For a referral, contact your local or state bar association.

Answer 2

At the preliminary hearing, the charges are announced (up to that time they could drop some without them going onto the record), the attorneys for the prosecution and defense appear (so everyone knows who is representing whom), and normally the defendant will enter a plea. If it is guilty or nolo contendre, then one set of things happens. If it is not guilty, they go on to set further hearings on trial setting and so on, or they set the trial date. A lot depends on how serious the charges. Sometimes the plea is not entered at that point, usually because they are negotiating a deal.

I will not attempt to estimate the sentence possible on such a case, as there are too many factors, the biggest one being what state and what county. A large urban area may be pretty jaded about such things, but a respectable suburb is going to want to nail his hide to a barn door.