Preliminary examinations are held in district court and are for ______ ONLY.

• A. Misdemeanors
• B. Infractions
• C. Felonies
• D. Traffic offenses

Answer: (C)

A preliminary examination is a procedure to determine whether there is enough evidence, specifically probable cause, to move forward to trial on serious charges. This step is reserved for felonies because they involve potential imprisonment and require a thorough screening of the evidence before binding a defendant over for trial in a higher court. Infractions, traffic offenses, and many misdemeanors are typically handled through simpler, quicker processes in lower courts and do not involve this kind of probable-cause screening. So, the best choice is felonies, since the purpose of a preliminary examination is to assess whether there is enough evidence to proceed with felony charges.