Initial appearance differs from the other initial stages of a criminal case that is an arraignment, preliminary hearings, and grand jury review. It can be referred to as the proceedings that require a person to appear in a court of law for the first time and before a judicial officer after being arrested on criminal charges (Law.jrank.org, 2018). The main purpose of the initial appearance is for the judicial officer to explain to the person arrested the reason for the arrest, the right that the person has and to appoint a counsel where necessary unlike in arraignment where the person is formally notified of the charges facing him or her. Initial appearance does not require the person charged to take a plea but in arraignment one is required to do so.
The preliminary hearing is an essential stage of a felony case. Its main objective is to determine how strong the evidence to require a trial (Righter & Adachi, 2017). This is done while the prosecutor has filed a criminal complaint. Unlike in the initial appearance where it happens with a short time, probably few hours, from arrest, preliminary hearings are required to be held within ten court days of the accused arraignment. In the grand jury, there is no judge present unlike in the initial appearance. In this stage, the prosecutor will incur the law to the grand jury members and work for hand in hand with them to collect evidence and also listen to the testimonies (Findlaw, 2018). Unlike in the courtroom, there is no much adherence to the strict rules. Unlike in initial appearance, the grand jury proceedings are kept in secret. In this, the defendant is required to explain to the members and answer the charges unlike in the initial appearance where the defendant does not defend him/herself.
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References
FindLaw. How Does a Grand Jury Work? (Apr. 6, 2018), http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal- procedure/how-does-a-grand-jury-work.html
Law.jrank.org. Arraignment - Distinction From Initial Appearance And Gerstein Probable Cause Proceeding, (Apr. 6, 2018), http://law.jrank.org/pages/521/Arraignment-Distinction- from-initial-appearance-Gerstein-probable-cause-proceeding.html
Righter, A. & Adachi, J. Continuing Education of the Bar—California , (Apr. 6, 2017). California criminal law procedure and practice .
