Section 6.2 Initiation of Felony Proceedings

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

B. (§6.2) Initiation of Felony Proceedings

Felony prosecutions are instituted either by filing a complaint in the associate circuit division or by presenting a case directly to the grand jury for purposes of obtaining an indictment. Rules 22, 23; § 544.020, RSMo Supp. 2004; Chapter 545, RSMo. In either event, probable cause must be established before a defendant charged with a felony offense can be brought to trial in the circuit division. If indicted by a grand jury, a defendant is not entitled to a preliminary hearing because probable cause will have been determined by the grand jury, and a defendant does not have a right to choose the method of determination of probable cause. State v. McGee, 757 S.W.2d 321 (Mo. App. W.D. 1988).

A prosecutor may take a case to the grand jury at any time, even after filing the complaint in the associate circuit division. A prosecutor who files the complaint and intends to bring the offense charged before the grand jury for...