What is a Preliminary in Pennsylvania? What Happens During It?

Frequently assistant district attorneys expect defendants to waive these proceeding in exchange for an agreement to lower bail, dismiss minor charges that were added to the lead charge, or simply gain some mitigation for the purposes of an eventual plea. The preliminary hearing is extremely important to your case and you should never assume that it doesn’t matter or it is in someway insignificant. There are situations where waiving a preliminary hearing makes strategic sense but this is only after a careful evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of going forward with it.