Pre-Trial Hearings & Discussion

...Melissa Huckaby, 28, was supposed to return to court in September, but the San Joaquin County Superior Court announced she will be in court 1 p.m. Aug. 17 for further proceedings.

A court spokeswoman said she was not at liberty to discuss the nature of those proceedings. A representative from the District Attorney's Office said they cannot comment on Monday's hearing. A gag order is in place in the case, preventing involved parties from discussing the case with the media.

A criminal grand jury was believed to have convened last month to hear evidence in the case. The proceedings are kept secret unless an indictment is made. If the grand jury met and they did issue an indictment, it would replace Huckaby's public preliminary hearing, in which a judge determines if there is enough evidence to try her on the charges. That hearing was scheduled to begin Sept. 24...

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...A drawing will take place at 12:15 p.m. in the same room. The public can enter the courtroom after journalists have been seated.

Seats have been reserved for five television stations, six local newspapers, a radio station and a sketch artist. Thirteen more seats are reserved for media, and available by lottery...

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joga said:

so if she is indicted today, she should receive her trial date, correct?

thanks for posting this!

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... legal expert following the Huckaby case told News10 it would appear Huckaby is going to be arraigned on the murder charge and given a trial date.

It's been widely reported that Huckaby's case was being reviewed by a criminal grand jury. The legal expert said it appeared the grand jury has indicted Huckaby. The grand jury process is sometimes used in criminal cases rather than having evidence heard publicly in preliminary hearings...

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...News of the hearing in Stockton comes after a secret grand jury finished up a review of evidence in the startling slaying. If Huckaby was indicted, she would have to be arraigned in court -- the beginning of the road toward trial.

Generally, prosecutors take cases to grand juries when they don't want to air evidence -- or identify witnesses -- in an open preliminary hearing. Defense attorneys aren't as fond of them; they aren't allowed in the room to call their own witnesses and rebut the charges.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?&entry_id=45357#ixzz0OSrw6PQy

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...Former Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby is set to appear in court at 1 p.m. What happens in court is considered a minor legal move according to legal experts, but it was enough to get the Today Show on NBC to send a live satelite truck for some pre-hearing coverage on national television...

...Monday's hearing is not expected to make any changes in the case. The judge has already scheduled a preliminary hearing for Huckaby to start the last week in September...

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joga said:

who thinks they are going to go for the death penalty?

i think they are going to lean that way.

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