At a preparatory hearing, when may the court summon the defendant, may the defendant attend without a summons, and what must the presiding judge tell a defendant who does attend?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the notice of the preparatory hearing sent to the defendant, any separate summons the court issued, and the minutes of the preparatory hearing, where we see whether the defendant appeared and whether the presiding judge told the defendant of the right to refuse to testify.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the words as written: the court may summon the defendant only where it finds this necessary, the defendant may attend the preparatory hearing even without a summons, and where the defendant does attend the presiding judge must tell them that refusing to testify is permitted.
Another reading separates two duties that sit side by side: the court must notify the defendant that a preparatory hearing has been set, which is not the same as summoning them, so a defendant who receives notice but no summons is left to decide whether to attend, and the provision does not say what turns on that choice.
Your judgment
If the defendant did not attend, how could the file show whether the court had found it necessary to summon them, and what followed from that finding?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to make attendance compulsory or to change the duty to notify the defendant, or if a court decision explains when the court should find it necessary to summon the defendant.