California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Klaut, No. A126658, No. SCR-565911 (Cal. App. 2011):
"On appeal from an order denying a motion to reinstate a criminal complaint under section 871.5, we disregard the superior court's ruling and directly examine the magistrate's ruling to determine if the dismissal of the complaint was erroneous as a matter of law. To the extent the magistrate's decision rests upon factual findings, '[w]e, like the superior court, must draw every legitimate inference in favor of the magistrate's ruling and cannot substitute our judgment, on the credibility or weight of the evidence, for that of the magistrate.' [Citation.]" (People v. Massey (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 204, 210.)
Section 859b governs the time within which a preliminary examination must be held in the case of a defendant charged with a felony. "The statute is 'supplementary to and a construction of the constitutional right to a speedy trial.' [Citations.] 'No affirmative showing of prejudice is necessary to obtain a dismissal for violation of the state constitutional speedy trial right as construed and implemented by statute.' [Citation.]" (People v. Love (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 276, 283 (Love).)
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