{"id":25205,"date":"2024-02-08T10:55:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T10:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rideoutlaw.com\/?p=25205"},"modified":"2024-02-02T19:04:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T19:04:28","slug":"what-happens-at-an-arraignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rideoutlaw.com\/es\/what-happens-at-an-arraignment\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens at an Arraignment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Happens at an Arraignment?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Criminal court cases involve several types of court hearings<\/a> that lead to a potential criminal trial. Early in this process is the arraignment hearing. Following the initial offense report, a defendant will appear before a judge for their initial appearance, in which they will be read their rights and hear the allegations against them. They may also be required to appear at a preliminary hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence that a crime occurred.<\/p>\n

An arraignment is the next step in this process. In some cases, an arraignment may be combined with the initial appearance. For felony cases, which are heard in the superior court, the arraignment will be the first court hearing. The arraignment must be held within 10 days of a defendant\u2019s indictment or the direct complaint against them.<\/p>\n

Here, the defendant is formally read their charges and is given the opportunity to enter a plea<\/a>: not guilty, guilty, or no contest. Typically, defendants enter a plea of \u201cnot guilty.\u201d Rather than admitting or accepting guilt, a \u201cnot guilty\u201d plea allows the defendant to move forward with their defense for their criminal case.<\/p>\n

Additionally, at an arraignment a defendant will:<\/p>\n