## Facts

- Two felony prosecutions (John Lamar Clark; Cory Howard Smith) were consolidated on appeal because they raised the same bindover issue.
- Each defendant was charged with forgery; Smith was also charged with attempted theft by deception.
- In each case, a checkbook was stolen, the victim notified the bank, and the defendant later appeared at the bank seeking to cash a check from the stolen checkbook.
- In Smith’s case, he presented a $400 check drawn on the victim’s account, made payable to him; he provided identification and allowed his fingerprint to be taken on the check.
- Bank personnel discovered the account was flagged because the checks were reported stolen and contacted police; Smith left the bank shortly thereafter, leaving the check behind.
- In Clark’s case, he presented a check from the victim’s stolen checks; the bank delayed processing due to prior notice, and Clark left the bank without the check when suspicion arose.
- In both cases, a magistrate found probable cause at a preliminary hearing and bound each defendant over for trial.
- In both cases, the district court quashed the bindover and dismissed, concluding the State’s preliminary-hearing evidence was insufficient, especially on intent to defraud.

## Issues

1. What evidentiary standard governs a magistrate’s bindover decision at a preliminary hearing: probable cause (reasonable belief) or a higher, trial-like standard akin to a directed verdict?
2. Under the correct standard, was the preliminary-hearing evidence sufficient to support a reasonable belief that each defendant committed forgery, including the element of intent to defraud?

## Decision

- The Utah Supreme Court reversed the district courts’ orders quashing the bindovers and remanded for further proceedings.
- The Court held that a preliminary hearing is a screening mechanism and does not require the State to present evidence sufficient to withstand a directed-verdict motion or to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The Court concluded the evidence supported a reasonable belief that forgery had been committed and that each defendant committed it, including a reasonable inference of intent to defraud.

## Legal Principles

- A defendant may be bound over for trial if the State presents sufficient evidence to support a reasonable belief that (1) an offense was committed and (2) the defendant committed it.
- The bindover determination applies a probable-cause standard comparable to the reasonable-belief inquiry used for arrest warrants, not a trial-level assessment of whether guilt is proved.
- At a preliminary hearing, the court should not resolve competing inferences or evaluate the case as if deciding guilt; credibility and ultimate factfinding are for trial when the State’s evidence, if believed, supports probable cause.
- Intent to defraud for forgery may be inferred from circumstantial evidence, including presenting a check from a recently stolen checkbook, purporting to be the payee, and leaving when bank suspicion or delay arises.

## Conclusion

The Utah Supreme Court reinstated the bindovers, holding that preliminary-hearing proof need only establish probable cause—a reasonable belief of the offense and the defendant’s involvement—and that circumstantial evidence supported a reasonable inference of fraudulent intent in both forgery prosecutions.


State v. Clark, 20 P.3d 300 (Utah 2001)