Case Study: How We Got 23 Felony Charges Dismissed at a Preliminary Hearing

Facing one felony charge is serious. Facing 23 serious violent felony charges can feel overwhelming.

For one of our clients, that was the situation heading into a preliminary hearing. The prosecution had brought a large number of felony counts, exposing the client to potentially life-changing consequences before the case had ever reached a jury.

But criminal charges are allegations, not convictions. And before a felony prosecution can move forward, the government must be able to establish the legally required basis for continuing the case.

At the preliminary hearing, we challenged the prosecution’s case.

The result: all 23 felony charges were dismissed and the case resolved for a single non-violent misdemeanor violation.

Because protecting our client’s confidentiality remains paramount, we will not identify the client or disclose facts that could reveal their identity. But the case illustrates an important point about criminal defense: sometimes the most consequential work happens long before trial.

What Is a Preliminary Hearing?

A preliminary hearing is one of the earliest significant stages of many felony criminal cases.

It is not a trial. The judge is not deciding whether the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a California felony preliminary hearing, the prosecution must establish probable cause that a crime was committed and that the defendant committed it. This is a lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which applies at trial. Even so, the prosecution must present sufficient evidence to justify holding the defendant to answer.

The prosecution’s burden at a preliminary hearing is considerably lower than its burden at trial. But it still has a burden. The government cannot simply rely on the fact that charges were filed.

And for the defense, the preliminary hearing can present an important opportunity to examine the evidence behind those charges. That is exactly how we approached this case.

Twenty-Three Charges Required Twenty-Three Careful Analyses

When a charging document contains a long list of felony counts, the number itself can create an immediate impression of strength.

Twenty-three charges sound formidable.

But good criminal defense work does not evaluate a case by counting charges.

It evaluates evidence.

Each charge has legal elements the prosecution must support. Each factual allegation has to be examined. Each witness’s account has to be evaluated against the rest of the evidence.

So rather than treating this as one enormous case involving 23 counts, the defense approach was more disciplined:

Break the case apart.

We examined the prosecution’s theory charge by charge and allegation by allegation.

The central questions were straightforward:

• What evidence supported each charge?
• What did the witnesses actually know firsthand?
• What assumptions were being made?
• Were there gaps between the allegations and the evidence necessary to support them?
• And, most importantly, could the prosecution satisfy its burden at the preliminary hearing?

That methodical approach changed the way the case looked.

The Defense Strategy: Test the Evidence Early

There is a temptation in serious criminal cases to assume that every dispute will eventually have to be resolved at trial.

That is not always true.

A strong defense begins by looking for the earliest legally appropriate opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s case.

In this matter, the preliminary hearing provided that opportunity.

Our goal was not to turn the proceeding into a full jury trial. That is not what a preliminary hearing is designed to be.

The goal was narrower and more strategic: force the prosecution’s evidence to be examined under the legal standard that applied at that stage of the case.

That meant focusing on the evidence rather than the accusations.

1. We analyzed the elements of every charge.

Felony offenses are made up of specific legal elements.

It is not enough for conduct to sound suspicious or troubling. The prosecution must have evidence supporting the particular elements of the crime it has charged.

With 23 felony counts at issue, that meant carefully examining whether the evidence actually connected to each individual offense.

2. We identified weaknesses before witnesses entered the courtroom.

Effective cross-examination starts long before the first question is asked.

The defense must understand what a witness is expected to say, what that witness personally observed, and where the testimony may conflict with documents, other witnesses, prior statements, or the prosecution’s overall theory.

Preparation allows seemingly small weaknesses to become much more significant once testimony is given under oath.

3. We tested whether the evidence supported the prosecution’s conclusions.

Criminal cases often involve a combination of direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, assumptions, and conclusions drawn by investigators.

Those categories are not interchangeable. Part of the defense attorney’s role is to make those distinctions clear.

A witness may know one fact personally but assume another. An investigator may draw a conclusion from certain circumstances, but the underlying circumstances still have to support that conclusion.

At a preliminary hearing, carefully separating what the evidence actually establishes from what someone believes it establishes can matter enormously.

4. We used cross-examination strategically.

Cross-examination does not need to be dramatic to be effective.

Some of the most useful questions in a criminal case are simple ones.

• What did you personally observe?
• When did you observe it?
• How do you know?
• Did you document it?
• Did someone else tell you that?
• What evidence connects this allegation to this particular defendant?

A preliminary hearing gives the defense an opportunity to ask questions the prosecution may never have been forced to confront before.

And those answers can reveal whether the government’s theory is as strong as the charging document initially makes it appear.

The Turning Point: Cross-Examination Changed the Case

During cross-examination, our defense attorney tested the prosecution witness’s account. Following that questioning, the judge expressed an exceptionally critical assessment of the witness.

The prosecution then agreed to dismiss all 23 felony counts and offered a resolution involving a single nonviolent misdemeanor. Our client accepted that resolution and was released from custody with the certainty that the matter could not be retried.

The Result: All 23 Felony Charges Dismissed

After the evidence was presented and the prosecution’s case was tested, all 23 felony charges were dismissed at the preliminary hearing.

That meant the case did not proceed toward trial on those charges.

For the client, the significance of that outcome is difficult to overstate.

Felony prosecutions can affect virtually every part of a person’s life: freedom, employment, professional licensing, finances, family relationships, and reputation.

Resolving a serious case at an early stage can also spare a defendant from months—or sometimes much longer—of living under the uncertainty of a pending felony prosecution.

But this result also illustrates something broader about the criminal justice system.

Being Charged Is Not the Same as Being Proven Guilty

When prosecutors file a large number of charges, it can be easy for the public—and sometimes even the person accused—to assume that the government must possess overwhelming evidence.

That assumption can be wrong.

A charging decision represents the prosecution’s allegation that crimes occurred. It does not mean those allegations have survived judicial scrutiny, cross-examination, or a trial.

That is why the adversarial process matters.

Defense lawyers are not simply preparing arguments for a future jury. Their job is to scrutinize the government’s evidence at every stage where the law permits a challenge.

Sometimes that means litigating constitutional issues.

Sometimes it means challenging the admissibility of evidence.

Sometimes it means negotiating a resolution.

And sometimes, as in this case, it means using the preliminary hearing to demonstrate that felony charges should not proceed any further.

Why Preliminary Hearings Matter in Felony Cases

Defendants sometimes underestimate the importance of proceedings that occur before trial.

That can be a serious mistake.

Depending on the case and jurisdiction, a preliminary hearing can provide the defense with valuable opportunities to:

• hear prosecution witnesses testify under oath;
• preserve testimony that may become important later;
• evaluate the strength of the government’s evidence;
• expose inconsistencies or evidentiary weaknesses;
• learn more about the prosecution’s theory of the case;
• challenge whether the legal standard for continuing felony charges has been satisfied; and
• create strategic advantages for later motions, negotiations, or trial preparation.

Not every case should be approached the same way, and not every preliminary hearing will result in dismissal.

But the hearing should never be treated as a meaningless procedural formality.

When the circumstances permit, it can be one of the defense’s first opportunities to make the government prove that its accusations have sufficient evidentiary support.

Twenty-Three Felony Crimes on Paper. Zero After the Hearing.

Perhaps the most important lesson from this case is a simple one:

The number of charges does not determine the strength of a criminal case. The evidence does.

Our client walked into the preliminary hearing facing 23 felony counts.

The prosecution had the opportunity to present its case.

The defense had the opportunity to challenge it.

By the conclusion of the hearing, all 23 felony charges had been dismissed and we resolved the case for a non-violent misdemeanor so the matter could not be retried. The client was released from custody and happy to have their life back without these horrendous charges looming over their head.

No criminal defense attorney can ethically promise a particular outcome, and past results never guarantee future results. Every case depends on its own facts, evidence, law, and procedural posture.

But defendants facing serious charges deserve something fundamental: a defense lawyer who will examine the government’s case rather than simply accept the accusations as presented.

Sometimes that scrutiny changes the entire course of a case.

In this one, it gave the client peace of mind and freedom after facing accusations that would have changed the trajectory of their entire life.

Facing felony charges in California? Contact The Nieves Law Firm to schedule a consultation and discuss your defense options. Early preparation can shape the decisions made before trial.

This case study has been written to protect client confidentiality. Certain identifying facts and details have been omitted or generalized. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Every criminal case is different and must be evaluated on its individual facts and applicable law.