Felony prosecutions require probable cause review by an official outside law enforcement

Evidence

To protect against governmental abuse of its prosecutorial power, defendants in the United States cannot be tried for a felony until the case against them has been reviewed by someone other than a law enforcement official. The prosecution must demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that the accused committed the crime. In many states, this process of formal accusation occurs during a preliminary hearing before a lower court judge. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1700

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines probable cause and formal accusation, core procedural thresholds in criminal justice.
• XREF: Connects to the Fourth Amendment probable cause standard and to charging discretion studied in the judicial process course. — connects to: The Fifth Amendment requires grand jury indictment for federal felony prosecutions — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1701; Prosecutorial discretion operates largely free of oversight and review

Broader Connections

• Prosecutorial discretion operates largely free of oversight and review #complicates (0.90)