HEARING

in law, a trial; more specifically, the formal examination of a cause, civil or criminal, before a judge according to the laws of the land. Frequently, in popular usage, it refers to any formal proceeding before a magistrate subsequent to inception of the case and without a juryespecially a preliminary hearing, in which a magistrate or judge, in the presence of the accused, determines whether or not there is sufficient evidence to justify proceeding with the case. in biology, physiological process of perceiving sound. See ear; mechanoreception; perception; sound reception.