A 21-year old North Miami woman has been charged with kidnapping a 5-year old girl.
Kidnapping is a felony punishable by life. Due to that, she is being held in jail without bond.
The alleged victim was discovered within 12 hours of going missing.
Kidnapping, like all non-bondable offenses, does not permit a first appearance judge to issue a bond unless that judge finds no probable cause for the charge.
Rather, a specialized hearing known as an Arthur Hearing is required in order to obtain a bond for the accused.
At an Arthur Hearing, the State bears the burden of proving that the accused is guilty of the crimes that he or she is charged with. The burden at the Arthur Hearing is an even higher burden than the state's burden at trial.
Eric Matheny is a Miami criminal attorney and Broward criminal attorney.