E
Elliot
Guest
In Australia it's also called a committal hearing, but you might not use that term over there. Indeed we may be talking about completely different things.
I've looked it up. In the US, as in Australia, a preliminary examination is a hearing before a trial for a felony (which we would call an indictable offence) to determine whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to justify a trial. That is not the same as an arraignment, which is when the charges are read in front of the defendant who is then asked to enter a plea. In the US trial process, the arraignment happens before the preliminary examination, with another arraignment afterwards in a superior court if the defendant has a case to answer.
But I don't think 'committal hearing' is the answer you're looking for either. It does not appear to be a term used in the US. The only terms I have seen used in an American context are 'preliminary examination' and 'preliminary hearing'.
By the way, I'm assuming that you're from the US because Yahoo! tells me you're using the US version of Answers.
I've looked it up. In the US, as in Australia, a preliminary examination is a hearing before a trial for a felony (which we would call an indictable offence) to determine whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to justify a trial. That is not the same as an arraignment, which is when the charges are read in front of the defendant who is then asked to enter a plea. In the US trial process, the arraignment happens before the preliminary examination, with another arraignment afterwards in a superior court if the defendant has a case to answer.
But I don't think 'committal hearing' is the answer you're looking for either. It does not appear to be a term used in the US. The only terms I have seen used in an American context are 'preliminary examination' and 'preliminary hearing'.
By the way, I'm assuming that you're from the US because Yahoo! tells me you're using the US version of Answers.