Opinion
No. 79SA48
Decided July 16, 1979.
Original proceeding filed by district attorney seeking a writ in the nature of mandamus and involving two counts of felony theft which charges the district court, after a preliminary hearing, dismissed for lack of probable cause. Rule to show cause issued why respondent court should not be ordered to reinstate the two counts against defendant.
Rule Discharged
1. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — Preliminary Hearing — Evidence — Conviction — Unnecessary — Favorable to Prosecution. Evidence presented by the prosecution at a preliminary hearing need not be sufficient to support a conviction at trial and must be viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution.
2. Preliminary Hearing — Probable Cause — Reasonable Belief — Commission of Crimes. Probable causes, in the preliminary hearing context, requires evidence sufficient to induce an ordinarily prudent and cautious person conscientiously to entertain a reasonable belief that the defendant may have committed the crimes charged.
3. Preliminary Hearing — Judge — No Reasonable Belief — Offense Committed — Probable Cause — Standard — Correctly Applied. Where district judge at preliminary hearing stated that he did not "have a reasonable belief that this defendant committed an offense," and explained that he did not believe the court could reasonably conclude that an offense had been committed based on the evidence presented, held, as such, record indicates that the appropriate probable cause standard was correctly applied; court did not abuse its discretion in this respect.
4. Preliminary Hearing — Judge — Discretion — Reject Testimony — Conflict — Inferences — Favorable to Prosecution. A judge at a preliminary hearing has limited discretion and may not reject a witness' testimony unless it is implausible or incredible as a matter of law; and when the evidence is in conflict, the judge must draw those inferences most favorable to the prosecution.
5. Preliminary Hearing — Probable Cause Determination — Not Reviewable — Exception. Ordinarily, a probable cause determination will not be reviewed unless a court has failed to follow the rules governing preliminary hearings or has ruled improperly on a witness' credibility; moreover, probable cause will not be reviewed when proper rules and standards have been applied in a preliminary hearing.
6. Preliminary Hearing — Purposes. The purposes of preliminary hearings are to prevent prosecutorial abuse, to avoid unnecessary trials and to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to justify prosecution.
7. Preliminary Hearing — Trial Judge's Assessment — Appellate Court — Substitution — Prohibited. Appellate courts should not substitute their evaluations of testimony for a trial judge's first-hand assessments at a preliminary hearing.
8. Preliminary Hearing — Safeguard — Prosecutorial Abuse — Courts — Free — Filter Out — Unworthy Cases. If the preliminary hearing is to be an effective safeguard against prosecutorial abuse, courts must be free to filter out cases unworthy of trial.
Original Proceeding
Charles G. Leidner, District Attorney, Patrick J. Delaney, Deputy District Attorney, for petitioner.
Robert B. Emerson, Claire H. Green, for respondents.
The Garfield County district attorney filed this original proceeding seeking a writ in the nature of mandamus under C.A.R. 21. We issued a rule to show cause why the respondent district court should not be ordered to reinstate two counts of felony theft against the defendant in the underlying criminal case. The district court, after a preliminary hearing, had dismissed those charges for lack of probable cause. We conclude that the district judge did not abuse his discretion or act beyond his jurisdiction and, therefore, we discharge the rule.
C.A.R. 21(a); City of Colorado Springs v. District Court, 184 Colo. 177, 180, 519 P.2d 325, 326 (1974).
The defendant was office manager and bookkeeper at Bill Hauskins VW, Porsche-Audi, BMW, during a time when $2,200 in car sales receipts disappeared. In August, 1978, the district attorney filed an information charging the defendant with four counts of theft under section 18-4-401, C.R.S. 1973 (1978 Repl. Vol. 8). The first two counts charged her with misdemeanor theft, and the second two counts charged her with class four felony theft. After concluding that the preliminary hearing evidence was insufficient to establish probable cause, the district court dismissed the felony theft charges.
The issue is whether the District Court, in dismissing the two felony theft charges, abused its discretion, either by (1) applying too high a standard of probable cause, or (2) holding that the evidence was insufficient to establish probable cause.
I. THE PROBABLE CAUSE STANDARD
[1] The people contend that the trial court failed to apply the proper probable cause standard in the preliminary hearing. They correctly state that the prosecution, at a preliminary hearing, need not present evidence sufficient to support a conviction at trial. People v. Treat, 193 Colo. 570, 568 P.2d 473, 475 (1977); Hunter v. District Court, 190 Colo. 48, 51, 543 P.2d 1265, 1268 (1975). Moreover they note that the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution. People v. Treat, supra, at 475; Hunter v. District Court, supra at 51. However, the people mistakenly have concluded that the district court used a higher standard of probable cause than the law permits.
[2,3] Probable cause in a preliminary hearing "requires evidence sufficient to induce a person of ordinary prudence and caution conscientiously to entertain a reasonable belief that the defendant may have committed the crimes charged." People v. Treat, supra, at 475. The district judge applied precisely that standard in concluding that he did not "have a reasonable belief that this defendant committed an offense." Similarly, the judge explained that he did not "believe the Court could reasonably conclude that an offense had been committed based on the evidence presented here. . . ." A "reasonable belief," the essential ingredient required for finding probable cause, is the state of mind the district judge could not reach. In our view, the record indicates that the appropriate probable cause standard was correctly applied. Respondent, therefore, did not abuse his discretion in this respect.
II. SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE TO ESTABLISH PROBABLE CAUSE
The petitioner argues that there was sufficient evidence to establish probable cause to support a finding that felony theft had been committed by the defendant. The prosecution presented evidence that on four occasions money had not been deposited, as it should have been, in the auto dealership's bank account. Further evidence showed that the defendant personally had handled the missing money on each of the four occasions, had failed to keep a running bank balance or reconcile bank statements, and twice had prepared deposit slips for less than the amounts received.
[4] This court has imposed certain limitations upon the discretion of a judge conducting a preliminary hearing. Specifically, he must not reject the testimony of a witness unless that testimony is implausible or incredible as a matter of law. Van Meveren v. District Court, 195 Colo. 1, 575 P.2d 405, 408 (1978); Hunter v. District Court, 190 Colo. 48, 52, 543 P.2d 1265, 1268 (1975). And, when a conflict in testimony exists, a judge must draw the inferences most favorable to the prosecution. Id..
[5] Ordinarily, a probable cause determination will not even be reviewed. Kuypers v. District Court, 188 Colo. 332, 336, 534 P.2d 1204, 1206(1975). Limited exceptions to that general rule have been applied in instances where a court either has failed to follow the rules governing preliminary hearings or improperly has ruled on the credibility of a witness' testimony. But we have not heretofore recognized any exception to the general rule of non-review when proper rules and standards have been properly applied.
McDonald v. District Court, 195 Colo. 159, 576 P.2d 169, 171-72 (1978); Kuypers v. District Court, 188 Colo. 332, 336-37, 534 P.2d 1204, 1205-1206 (1975); Maestas v. District Court, 189 Colo. 443, 447-48, 541 P.2d 889, 891 (1975).
VanMeveren v. District Court, 195 Colo. 1, 575 P.2d 405, 408 (1978); Hunter v. District Court, 190 Colo. 48, 52, 543 P.2d 1265, 1268 (1975).
[6,7] The result sought by the petitioner would subvert the purpose of a preliminary hearing "to prevent hasty, malicious, improvident, and oppressive prosecutions, . . . to avoid both for the defendant and the public, the expenses of a public trial, . . . and to discover whether there are substantial grounds upon which a prosecution may be based." Thies v. State, 178 Wis. 98, 103, 189 N.W. 539, 541 (1922). Those objectives would be undermined if appellate courts were to second-guess the discretionary first-hand assessments of trial courts and substitute their evaluations of testimony based on cold transcripts.
[8] If the preliminary hearing is to be an effective safeguard against procedural abuse, courts must be free to filter out cases unworthy of trial.
The rule is discharged.