Sheriff v. Roylance

*335OPINION

By the Court,

Steffen, J.:

This is an appeal from an order of the district court granting respondent’s pretrial petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Respondent Sharon Kay Roylance was indicted for allegedly selling a total of approximately 25 grams of cocaine to an undercover police officer in five separate transactions between July 5, 1991, and September 5, 1991. On February 13, 1992, Roylance appeared before the justice’s court for the preliminary hearing. The state informed the justice’s court that it was unable to proceed because its sole witness, the undercover officer, was ill. The…