Pretrial Hearing, Pretrial Discovery, and Pretrial Litigation
By Tony Comunale, Esq

After the arraignment it is time to begin preparing for the defense of the case. Your attorney will engage in what is called discovery requests, demanding that the prosecution turn over all of its evidence along with any statements made by witnesses or by you. If necessary an independent investigation should be conducted. At Our office we have a private investigator available to us at all times should independent witness interview, collection of physical evidence, or any other investigative process be necessary.

In addition to discovery, it is important to begin to lay the strategic foundation for the possibility that of going to trial. This is generally done through pretrial motions, which require litigation and court hearings. Most commonly these motions include motions to challenge the evidence against you and its admissibility at trial. These are called "motions to suppress" and they require hearings in which the state must prove that it had legitimate grounds to arrest a person and to collect the evidence against them. Not only are these motions important to pin down the government's case against you, but if it can be demonstrated that the government did not follow the proper procedures, the case against you can be dismissed. Additionally, if there have been any technical defects in the presentation of charges, your attorney should examine this and request that the court dismiss the charges.

Lastly, during this stage of the proceedings negotiations will occur between the prosecution and your attorney. Your attorney should keep you well informed and meet with you regularly to discuss how those negotiations are proceeding. It is possible to work out what is called a plea bargain or plea agreement, so long as it is beneficial to your interests and provides a greater chance of success than actually going to trial.

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