If you've never been charged with a crime or you have a loved one who is being charged with a crime and you never had to deal with it, one of the first things you're going to hear talked about is an arraignment.

Basically, that's where the person appears in court.  They appear because they were given some sort of a citation, the government sent them a letter to appear, or they're arrested and brought into

custody if they don't post bail. Then they would appear at the arraignment, or they're arrested, post bail, and are given a future court date in a Los Angeles county criminal court — it's usually about thirty to forty-five days ahead, depending on how busy the courts are. If in police custody, you have to be arraigned within 48 hours after arrest.

The individual will be accompanied by their attorney at the arraignment. If they don't have an attorney, they can utilize the services of a public defender, provided they meet the financial criteria. This ensures that they have legal representation, a crucial aspect of the arraignment process.

What is an Arraignment?

It's the first court appearance after charges have been filed against you. Your attorney will typically be given the paperwork — what they call discovery — at the initial arraignment and speak to the prosecutor about the case.

Usually a new court date is going to be set at the arraignment.  You can either continue the arraignment or enter a not-guilty plea.  If it's a felony case, you will have to appear at arraignment. You can set it for a preliminary hearing, which is a proceeding where the prosecutor presents evidence to a judge to show that there is enough evidence to proceed to trial, or you can set it for what's called early disposition in some of the courts, where you're trying to see if you can resolve the case, or some of the courts call it pre-trial or preliminary hearing setting if the case is filed as a felony.

Suppose it's filed as a misdemeanor and you enter a not-guilty plea versus continuing the arraignment. In that case, they'll typically set it for a pre-trial date, and ultimately, you'll be entitled to have a trial within a speedy amount of time.  A speedy trial, as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, usually means within sixty days of your arraignment.

Setting Bail

If bail hasn't been set at the arraignment, usually when the attorney gets the paperwork, a complaint will be included within the prosecutor's discovery packet. The complaint, usually on page two or three, depending on how many charges are filed, will say what the prosecutor's recommended bail is. The judge will look at that, and at the time of the arraignment, the attorneys will argue bail, and ultimately, the judge will decide.

In Los Angeles County, when you go to an arraignment, and they set bail, they usually do so out of what's called a bail schedule. This basically means the judges have gotten together and decided what the appropriate bail is for each crime. Now, the bail can be higher or lower than that, depending on what the judge decides is fair under the circumstances.

For purposes of arraignment and bail, the judge is to assume the charges are true when setting bail.  Whether they're true or not, whether the government has proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, that's just simply the rule.  Most courthouses at the arraignment are not going to be negotiating the case.

The prosecutor there will know limited information about the case.  Sometimes, they don't even read the file.  They know a not-guilty plea is going to be entered, bail's going to be set, and a new court date is going to be chosen.

Do You Have to Appear at Arraignment?

But there are some courts in some cases where your attorney can go to the arraignment and try to resolve the case.  Usually, I wouldn't say I like to do that because, obviously, I want to look at everything, talk to my client about it, and really strategize it before making any decisions.

But on some occasions, when the client's in custody, can't bail out, and the government has the goods on him if you can work out a resolution where they get out of custody that day, that sometimes tantalizes the client because they don't want to just sit in custody while they're waiting for their case to be resolved. Only some cases are like that.

Depending on the circumstances, that's definitely something to consider because you certainly don't want your client languishing in custody, unable to work, make money, or do anything while they're in custody.

So, sometimes, the arraignment is the right time to resolve the case; other times, it's not.  It's something to discuss with your attorney.  It's something to strategize and something to figure out and obviously, whatever move you're making is going to be in the best interest of your client. Contact the Hedding Law Firm for help.