Can a motion to suppress sex abuse be heard at a special hearing?

motion was made previously at the preliminary hearing and where the evidence at the special hearing is limited to the transcript of the preliminary hearing, the trial court is no longer vested with unrestricted power to determine the facts. Rather, it is bound by the factual findings of the magistrate and, in effect, becomes a reviewing court drawing all inferences in favor of the magistrate's findings, where they are supported by substantial evidence." (People v. Ramsey (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d 671, 678-679, fn. omitted.)

"Because the superior court is the reviewing court rather than the fact-finding court, the appellate court no longer reviews the findings of the trial court. Rather, as with review of a [Penal Code] section 995 motion, the appellate court disregards the findings of the trial court and reviews the determination of the magistrate who ruled on the motion to suppress. [Citation.] The appellate court, in reviewing the magistrate's findings, applies the same standard previously applied to the trial court's findings: 'all presumptions are drawn in favor of the factual determinations of the [magistrate] and the appellate court must uphold the [magistrate's] express or implied findings if they are supported by substantial evidence.' " (People v. Ramsey, supra, 203 Cal.App.3d at p. 679.)