Congratulations to Ron Ridehalgh on a Felony Preliminary hearing dismissal!

When the government desires to accuse someone of a felony crime, both the United States and Oregon Constitutions require the government to provide evidence that they have a legitimate reason to believe that a crime was committed and that the person accused was the person who committed the crime.  This is not sufficient evidence to convict someone of a crime – it is only proven by a ‘preponderance’ (probably) of the evidence; not by ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ (certainty).  Basically, this rule exists to prevent the government from prosecuting people based solely upon a person’s race, religion, or politics.  There are two ways the prosecutor may provide this evidence: one way is without the defense attorney present and the other is with the defense attorney present.  In this case, the prosecutor selected the procedure where Mr. Ridehalgh is in the room.  Accordingly, he was able to cross examine the prosecutor’s witness.  The prosecutor used the police officer as her sole witness.  The charge was Identity Theft which carries five years of prison as the maximum period of incarceration.  Through cross examination, Mr. Ridehalgh demonstrated that his client was probably not trying to defraud anyone.  Accordingly, the charge was immediately dismissed!