People of Michigan v. Richard Louis Baird

Summary

The Court held that a defendant charged through Michigan's one-man grand-jury procedure is entitled to a preliminary examination before trial because the governing statutes require the case to proceed as it would after a formal complaint. It also held that those statutes authorize investigation, subpoenas, and arrest warrants but do not authorize the judge conducting the inquiry to issue an indictment initiating a prosecution. The Court therefore reversed the orders denying preliminary examinations and the motion to dismiss, and remanded for further proceedings.