Every person charged with and arrested for a felony before his indictment shall have an absolute right to a preliminary hearing on said charge upon such person's demand within 30 days following said arrest; provided, that such person's failure or refusal to appear for such preliminary hearing or his absence from the state at the time of the setting for the preliminary hearing shall not delay or invalidate an indictment pursuant to said charge.

(a) If upon a preliminary examination it appears that an offense has been committed and that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant is guilty thereof, he must be discharged, if the offense is bailable, upon giving sufficient bail. If sufficient bail is not given or if the offense is not bailable, he must be committed to jail by an order in writing.

(b) The form of commitment may be in substance as follows:

On the examination of A. B., charged with the offense of murder (or other offense, as the case may be, describing it by name, or so that it may be clearly inferred), it appearing that such offense has been committed and that there is sufficient cause to believe that A. B. is guilty thereof, you are, therefore, commanded to receive him into your custody and to detain him until he is legally discharged.

Dated this ____ day of _____, 19__

Whenever a person is committed to jail for a bailable offense under the provisions of this chapter, the court must endorse on the commitment the amount of bail required and sign his name thereto. The sheriff of the county to which the defendant is committed may discharge him on giving sufficient bail in the amount so endorsed and must, in such case, return the undertaking to the court to which such person is bound to appear within five days thereafter.

(a) The court may require the witnesses for the prosecution to enter into an undertaking, in the sum of $100.00 each, to appear and testify at the court having cognizance of the offense and, if requested by the defendant, may require his witnesses to enter into such undertaking.

(b) The undertaking of the witnesses for the prosecution or defense may be in substance as follows:

charged with a public offense, do each agree to appear at the district court of _____ county, to give evidence against (or for, as the case may be) him and, failing to do so, to pay to the State of Alabama (or to the said G. H., if the undertaking is for the defendant's witnesses) $100.00.

(c) Whenever the court has good reason to believe that a witness for the prosecution will not appear to testify, it may order such witness to enter into an undertaking to appear and testify in a larger sum and with sufficient sureties, but such surety must not be required from any witness who does not reside in this state and within 50 miles of the place where the examination takes place.

Married women and minors, when material witnesses for the prosecution, may also be required, in the discretion of the court, to procure sureties who will undertake for their appearance to testify.

(a) Any witness required under this chapter to enter into an undertaking, with or without surety, may be committed to jail on failure or refusal to do so.

(b) In cases arising under subsection (a) of this section, the court must state in the commitment the amount of the undertaking and whether surety is required; and the witness must be discharged by the sheriff on entering into the undertaking as required.

(a) When any person is held by a district court to answer an indictment for a public offense, it is the duty of such court to return to the district attorney immediately after the order holding or committing such person the affidavit and warrant of arrest, with a transcript of the docket, a list of the state's witnesses and all costs and all undertakings of bail by parties or witnesses in the case.

(b) When there has been no such committals since the last session of the circuit court, the district court shall make a report of that fact to the district attorney.

The district court shall exercise exclusive jurisdiction to hold preliminary hearings in prosecutions for felonies.

A preliminary hearing determination by the district court finding no probable cause shall not be res judicata with respect to the issue of probable cause, and the state shall not be barred from proceeding further.

When a defendant is brought before a district court under a warrant of arrest for preliminary examination, the court may adjourn the examination from time to time, as may be necessary, not exceeding 10 days at one time, without the consent of the defendant, and to the same or a different place in the county. In such case, if the defendant is charged with a capital offense, he must be committed to jail in the meantime; but if the offense is not capital, he may give bail in such sum as the court directs for his appearance for such further examination or, for the want thereof, must be committed. On the day to which the examination was adjourned, the defendant may be brought before the court by verbal order to the officer who had charge of him or by order in writing to a different person if the custody has been changed.

If the defendant does not appear before the district court at the time to which an examination is adjourned, the default on the undertaking of bail shall be certified by the district court to the circuit court, and the like proceedings must be had thereon as upon the breach of an undertaking in that court, the certificate being presumptive evidence of the default of the defendant.

On the failure of the defendant to appear on the day to which an examination is adjourned, another warrant of arrest may be issued, upon which the same proceedings may be had against the defendant as on the original warrant.

The court before whom any person is brought charged with a public offense must examine the complainant and the witnesses for the prosecution on oath, as soon as may be, in the presence of the defendant, and, after the testimony for the prosecution is heard, the witnesses for the defendant must be sworn and examined.

In a preliminary examination, the defendant may appear by counsel and, on application, the court may direct the witnesses for the prosecution or defense, or both, to be kept separate so that they cannot hear the evidence or converse with each other until examined. Such an examination is under the control of the court and should be so conducted as to elicit the facts of the case.

In a preliminary examination, it shall be the duty of the court to examine all witnesses having any knowledge of any facts relevant to such investigation, whether such witnesses were summoned in behalf of the state or of the defendant.

If upon the whole evidence in a preliminary examination it appears to the court that no offense has been committed or that there is no probable cause for charging the defendant therewith, the defendant must be discharged.