State v. Jaeger

I respectfully dissent. Article I, section 13 of the Utah Constitution provides thát a preliminary hearing shall be held in all cases prosecuted by an information, unless this hearing is waived by the defendant. The preliminary hearing is a “critical stage in the criminal process,” State v. Anderson, 612 P.2d 778, 782 n. 9 (Utah 1980), designed to “relieve[] the accused from the substantial degradation and expense incident to a modern criminal trial when the charges against him [or her] are unwarranted or the evidence insufficient.” Id. at 784. The Utah Supreme Court recognized in Anderson…