A California criminal case does not move in one straight line. Cases begin with an investigation or arrest, but many never reach trial. Some are rejected before filing. Some resolve at arraignment. Some felony cases are narrowed or dismissed at the preliminary hearing. Others proceed all the way through jury trial.

If you are charged with a felony in California, one of the major events in the case is the preliminary hearing (aka “The Prelim”). This hearing is not the trial. No jury decides guilt or innocence there. Instead, a live-testimony hearing is held and the judge decides whether the prosecution has shown enough evidence to keep the case moving forward and justify a jury trial.

A jury trial is the stage of a criminal case where the prosecution must finally prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to a group of citizens. It is the highest burden in the legal system—and the one that actually decides guilt or innocence.

Everything that comes before it—arrest, charging, arraignment, pretrial motions, and even the preliminary hearing—is about whether the case can proceed to this stage. The jury trial is where the case is won or lost.

If you are facing criminal charges in California, understanding how a jury trial actually works—and how it is different from everything leading up to it is critical.