Should i waive my preliminary hearing

Sometimes there is no downside to having a preliminary hearing. Yet some prosecutors in Lincoln, Nebraska will refuse to turn over police or investigative reports if the defendant has a preliminary hearing.

In this instance, the defendant often waives his or her right to a preliminary hearing in exchange for the investigative reports. Yes and no. Under the Nebraska Discovery Statute and state and federal case law, the government must turn over any exculpatory information, even if it is the police reports.

Aside from some prosecutors in Lincoln, most prosecutors will turn over investigative reports regardless of whether the accused waives his right to a preliminary hearing. The logic behind this is simple; why risk failing to turn over evidence in a criminal case? In cases where prosecutors fail to turn over important evidence found in police reports and other places, cases have been overturned and in some instances, the accused was awarded a large cash settlement arising from a lawsuit where the government obtained a false conviction by not turning over evidence to the defense.

Even if there is no exculpatory evidence in the reports, they can be extremely helpful to the defense. While at a preliminary hearing, the defendant will get to cross-examine the witness, but the cross-examination will be extremely limited. Often the investigative reports contain much more information than the government presents at a preliminary hearing.

The good news is that the preliminary hearing is just the first step. It has been sent. Please try again later. Google Rating. Search for:. August 19th, 0 Comments. September 11th, 0 Comments. May 28th, 0 Comments. May 21st, 0 Comments.

Cancel reply Comment. If you decide to do so, your case will proceed just as though you had attended and the judge decided the state had ample evidence to try you. Waiving the preliminary hearing is often a tactical move, but sometimes it just comes down to dollars and cents.

If you know the state has a slam-dunk case against you, you might want to save your money for legal fees for trial. This might happen if you testify at the prelim on your own behalf and say something that additionally incriminates you, or if more evidence against you comes to light during the proceedings.

The lawyer for the defendant is afraid that testimony that would be provided at a preliminary hearing might lead to other charges being filed against their client as more details of what happened are revealed.

The lawyer for the defendant is trying to obtain a lower bail for the defendant so that he can be at liberty to defend himself. The defendant plans to plead guilty and wants to avoid the emotional burden of facing witnesses and victims, as well as avoiding the additional financial cost and embarrassment of the preliminary hearing.