California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People V. Wang, 106 Cal.Rptr.2d 829 (Cal. App. 2001):
A magistrate at a preliminary hearing determines whether the prosecution's factual showing establishes probable cause to believe the defendant committed a felony. " ' " 'An information will not be set aside or a prosecution thereon prohibited if there is some rational ground for assuming the possibility that an offense has been committed and the accused is guilty of it.' " ' [Citations.] The test is a limited one: whether there is such a state of facts as would lead a person of ordinary caution or prudence to believe and conscientiously entertain a strong suspicion of the guilt of the accused. [Citation.] If the test is met, the magistrate must hold the defendant to answer. [Citation.]" (People v. DeJesus (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 1, 14, original italics.) We review the evidence to determine whether, as a matter of law, it was sufficient, not whether the superior court's ruling was reasonable. (Salazar v. Superior Court, supra, 83 Cal.App.4th at p. 842.) "Ordinarily, if there is some evidence in support of the information, the reviewing court will not inquire into its sufficiency. [Citations.] Thus, an indictment or information should be set aside only when there is a total absence of evidence to support a necessary element of the offense charged. [Citations.]" (Ibid.) The required showing may be made through circumstantial evidence supporting the magistrate's reasonable inferences. (Ibid.) "[T]he showing required at a preliminary hearing is exceedingly low." (Id. at p. 846.)
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