Delivery/ Manufacturing/ Possession with intent to distribute dismissed after preliminary hearing: TB hired me after he was pulled over, had his car searched and he was arrested for manufacturing or delivery of cannabis. In this case, I was able to conduct a preliminary hearing. A Preliminary hearing is also known as a probable cause hearing. For a case to be assigned to a trial judge, a prosecutor must show, that it is more likely than not that, a crime occurred, and the arrested defendant is the person who committed the crime. In Illinois, probable cause is determined two different ways, by way of a grand jury indictment or a preliminary hearing.

During the preliminary hearing the Assistant State’s Attorney did a direct examination of the arresting officer. The officer testified, that he smelled cannabis in TB’s car and then conducted a search of the vehicle. The officer testified to finding a large bag containing several smaller bags and that the contents of the bags came back from the crime lab as cannabis. I conducted a cross examination where I asked question which tied up all loose ends and cemented the police officers into a specific set of facts. After that, I asked the judge if may argue. The judge permitted it. I argued that the State of Illinois failed to show any evidence of a potential delivery or whether the cannabis was for more than just personal use. The judge agreed and found that there was no probable cause for the charge. Case dismissed.