# Requesting police and legal help



## Jack of all trades (May 12, 2016)

In my story, which is set in the northeastern part of the US, I have a man accuse a tutor of child molestation to keep his son from telling what he knows to the tutor. 

I need to know how long the process would take. The tutor is not arrested, but there is a preliminary hearing to determine if there's sufficient evidence to charge him. How long does such a hearing take? Is it all over in a single day?

Also, I'm thinking of adding an accusation of theft against a teen. The teen has an alibi, as he was working in a diner at the time. With no reason to continue investigating him, the police look elsewhere. Would the teen or his attorney be able to find out who made the accusation?


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## PrinzeCharming (May 12, 2016)

There are too many factors to consider to provide an accurate response. Most preliminary hearings are completed within a few hours. You also have to factor in the tutoring services. Is this a tutor hired via a temp agency or independent? You would also have to factor in the victim, the child, in this scenario. The child would have to be examined by a doctor and a child psychologist.


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## Jack of all trades (May 12, 2016)

PrinzeCharming said:


> There are too many factors to consider to provide an accurate response. Most preliminary hearings are completed within a few hours. You also have to factor in the tutoring services. Is this a tutor hired via a temp agency or independent? You would also have to factor in the victim, the child, in this scenario. The child would have to be examined by a doctor and a child psychologist.



I am aware of the exams. They would not be done in court, however. So once the preliminary hearing has started, how long would it take for the evidence that has been gathered to be presented? That's my question. And when in that process does the accused get to present his evidence? Again, I am interested in the courtroom process only.

And there's still the question of the theft accusation. Would the teen or his attorney be able to find out who accused him of theft?


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## afk4life (May 12, 2016)

The tutor is screwed. Even if proven innocent, he's going to be in all the news. So, really, process is irrelevant, he's got a life sentence. And the instant the allegation is made it would likely be all over news and he would be arrested, regardless of how solid the evidence was. The news would go away before there's a hearing.

As far as the teen and the attorney, the attorney isn't going to have a vested interest in solving the crime. His client got off, his work is done. The teen may have another reason, but I really doubt anyone bumps up against a police investigation intentionally and puts themselves in the crosshairs once again.


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## PrinzeCharming (May 12, 2016)

Jack of all trades said:


> I am aware of the exams. They would not be done in court, however.



Did I mention the location of the exams? Where else would you retrieve the evidence_ for _the court? Obviously not _in _the court. I brought up the temp agency for a reason. If these acts of misconduct were done on the job, hired by a company, the company would have to be involved. That's all I am hinting at here. They would be held for questioning as to why he was fit for the job and how extensive the background check was prior to the signed documents for a new hire. The investigation itself, may it lead into obtaining a warrant, might involve computers seized and searched. Child molestation cases are a hit or miss. They either have enough evidence or the person of interest is free to go. Are they false accusations? There's a lot of information you're not disclosing. You want a basic answer for a complex issue.


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## Jack of all trades (May 12, 2016)

Alright, the teen accused of theft is unrelated to the child molestation case. Same attorney, but that's all.

The question is not about the investigation. It is about how much time the attorney would be spending in court. One day? Two? Three? He's representing the tutor, and all preparation is done. Just trying to get a ballpark estimate for the duration of the hearing.


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## Jack of all trades (May 12, 2016)

In case anyone reading is interested, I talked with a police officer.

Preliminary hearings are generally short and informal. Thirty minutes to two hours is all. And sometimes the judge mails his decision, rather than having everyone stay or come back to hear it.

The police report would include who made the allegation, and the teen or his attorney could get a copy of the report.


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## The_Scribbler (May 13, 2016)

Preliminary hearings are usually short like you said. The defense attorney may argue to have the charges dropped based on whatever, the judge accepts or denies. If he denies to drop the case the defendant has to put in a plea, and then bail is either set or denied.

My only issue with this is why the tutor wasn't arrested? You have to be charged with something in order to have a preliminary hearing. Whether they decide to set him out on bail on his own recognizance is one thing, but if they don't arrest him, then essentially he's not being charged with a crime. If he's being charged with a crime he's going to be arrested and held until the prelim. However, they would need sufficient evidence to arrest him before hand. If they don't, then they wouldn't arrest him and there would be no prelim. 

Just hoping to help and make sure you have the believable factor in your story.


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## Sleepwriter (May 13, 2016)

Prelims are just to set bail and enter a plea.  So this would only happen if the tutor was arrested as Scribbler pointed out.

If the cops are trying to decide if they should charge/arrest the tutor, that is done after their investigation, which could takes hours, days or weeks, depending on what worms they find in the can.


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## Jack of all trades (May 13, 2016)

Sometimes the preliminary hearing is to determine if charges will be brought. Granted most of the time there has been an arrest. In this case, the judge is deciding if a warrent should be issued. It does happen, rarely, that way, according to my source.


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## The_Scribbler (May 13, 2016)

The judge doesn't decide if a charges should be brought. The prosecution (district attorney) does. If they believe there's enough evidence, they file the charges, and issue the arrest warrant, which has to be signed by a judge. Same for any sort of search warrant they may need. There must be enough evidence either way to justify it. However, you can't have a preliminary hearing to decide if a warrant should be issued. The District Attorney or ADA would present the evidence to the judge...I don't believe that defense attorneys are present for that, especially considering the fact that this guy isn't supposed to have been arrested.


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## Jack of all trades (May 14, 2016)

The_Scribbler said:


> The judge doesn't decide if a charges should be brought. The prosecution (district attorney) does. If they believe there's enough evidence, they file the charges, and issue the arrest warrant, which has to be signed by a judge. Same for any sort of search warrant they may need. There must be enough evidence either way to justify it. However, you can't have a preliminary hearing to decide if a warrant should be issued. The District Attorney or ADA would present the evidence to the judge...I don't believe that defense attorneys are present for that, especially considering the fact that this guy isn't supposed to have been arrested.



Maybe it differs from place to place. My source confirmed what I learned from a Google search : in some cases, although rarely, a preliminary hearing is held to determine if there's sufficient reason to file charges.


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## Jack of all trades (May 14, 2016)

I've decided I want something that lasts a few days, so I'm switching it to a civil suit.

Thanks to all for the assistance.


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