Arraignment, What Happens, the Process
When a person is arrested the process actually brings about various steps to take or procedures to follow. These steps should be considered a way to protect the rights of the accused. First, following the arrest, comes the process of being booked, arraignment will follow. An arraignment can be defined as the process of reading the criminal charges (complaint) against the defendant in a formal manner. The defendant has the right to be accompanied by an attorney.
An arraignment hearing may be combined with a short hearing to determine the bail amount, and/or if bail will be allowed or not. At this step in the process the defendant has a chance to enter a plea; any of the following pleas are common in a criminal proceeding: no contest, not guilty, or guilty.
When the arraignment takes place depends on different factors. The major factor is the defendant’s custodial status. If the defendant is in custody, arraignment takes place within 48 hours. (Not including weekends and Court holidays.) In the event that the case is not disposed of at arraignment that will be the time when the court sets the next hearing date. Constitutional rights grant the defendant the right to a speedy trial. Prompt arraignment helps to insure that the defendant’s right to speedy trial are met.
Arraignment occurs when a judge, court clerk, or prosecutor reads the complaint to the defendant in court, and asks how the defendant would like to plea to the charges. Generally in both misdemeanor and felony cases the defendant is provided a copy of the complaint outlining the specific charges levied against them.
The filing of a complaint is followed by arraignment. If the defendant is being held in custody, the California Penal Code requires that arraignment be held without unnecessary delay. Unnecessary delay means no more that 48 hours after arrest. When the defendant is not held in custody no specific statutory deadline applies. If the defendant posts a bail bond after arrest but before arraignment the arraignment can be set at a date in the future.
There can also be consequences for unnecessary delay between arrest and arraignment. If a delay occurs a lawful arrest may convert to an unlawful detention. An unreasonable delay in bringing a defendant before the court may be grounds for a civil suit; however it may not be grounds for a dismissal of the criminal case.
The defendant’s attorney can seek a petition for a writ of habeas corpus for the release of the defendant if he is not arraigned or released within the applicable statutory time periods.