New York Preliminary Hearings

A preliminary hearing is an adversarial proceeding usually held after the arraignment at which the judge, using the probable cause legal standard, decides  whether the prosecution has enough evidence against the defendant to go to trial. The probable cause standard determines whether the prosecution has produced enough evidence to convince a reasonable jury that the defendant is guilty. The only purpose of a preliminary hearing is to convince the judge that the case should or should  not go to trial.

Both sides will make their arguments and question witnesses who are called to testify. The government may introduce physical evidence as well but the defense will object to any evidence.  In essence, a preliminary hearing is a mini-trial before trial.

In New York there is no constitutional right to a preliminary hearing, and a defendant has no constitutional or statutory right to a preliminary hearing as a condition precedent to a valid indictment. In New York, the right to a preliminary hearing is statutory. The law provides that a defendant ''has a right to a prompt hearing upon the issue of whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant the court in holding him for the action of the grand jury.''

Furthermore, a preliminary hearing in New York is not required in misdemeanor cases or when felony charges are reduced to misdemeanor charges.