Preliminary hearings often come up early in a South Carolina criminal case, right at the bond hearing, and they raise a lot of questions. What exactly is a preliminary hearing, does it actually matter, and why does the Complete Legal Defense Team request one for its clients? These three questions are addressed below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Preliminary Hearing?
When you’re in jail at your bond hearing and the judge gives you the two court dates, the initial appearance and the bond returnable date, the judge will also tell you you have a right to request a preliminary hearing. And that has a deadline. The other things don’t really have deadlines.
So they give you a form and you’ve got 10 days to request a preliminary hearing. And a preliminary hearing is really just what it sounds like. It’s just a very short hearing, so you can explore what you’re charged with, or they can justify that they arrested you or something like that. It’s something that you have a right to. It’s something that the team tries to enforce for everyone represented.
Are Preliminary Hearings Important?
We do it on every case. Sometimes when people hire us, more than 10 days has passed, and so they missed the deadline, and so in those instances, sometimes we can’t request one and get one. It really is not that big a deal.
The judge talks about it at your bond hearing and you would think it’s the most important thing in the world. It really isn’t. If you request one and don’t even go to it, nothing happens. So it’s not that significant, but it’s something the team likes to do because they want to do everything possible.
Why Do Lawyers Request Preliminary Hearings?
It’s just one other thing that can be done. A lot of people request them, and a lot of people request it before they get a lawyer, so the lawyer has to deal with it. It’s just a little brief hearing with hearsay is admissible. The police officer testifies a little bit and the judge is going to bind the case over.
The judge isn’t going to dismiss the case, but occasionally, when the case is so bad, cases have been dismissed. And so, if a case can be dismissed, the team is going to try.
Facing a preliminary hearing deadline or unsure what your rights are after an arrest in South Carolina can feel overwhelming, especially with a strict 10-day window to act. With roughly 30 years of experience and a background as a former prosecutor, Greg McCollum brings a detailed understanding of how these early-stage hearings work from both sides of the courtroom.
If you have questions about preliminary hearings, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.
