New York Criminal Arraignments
An arraignment in New York is the time when a person charged with having commited an offense is brought before the local court for the purpose of having the court aquire and exercise control over them with respect to a certain accusatory instrument and for the purpose of setting the course of further proceedings in the case.
A New York local criminal court judge will arraign you within 24hours after being arrested or when you appear in court on an appearance ticket or a summons. During the arraignment, the judge will read in court the charges levied against you and provide you with a copy of the accusatory instrument. The judge will advise you of your rights- right to counsel, right to an adjournment to obtain counsel, right to have an attorney assigned to you if you cannot afford an attorney, right to a preliminary hearing, etc.
The judge will ask you to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. You of course should plead “not guilty”. But, do not say anything else other than “not guilty”. Do not attempt to discuss the case with the judge. Anything you say is probably being recorded and can be used against you later in the case. If you have a criminal defense lawyer at the arraignment he will usually waive a reading of your rights and the charges and enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf.
The prosecutor may file certain notices pursuant to the criminal procedure law such as a notice to introduce certain evidence, notice of readiness for trial, notice of statements by you that the People intend to use at trial, notice of an identification witness who is expected to testify at trial, notice of a victim’s request for the return of stolen property, etc. The prosecutor may also serve a demand for alibi.
If the case is a felony then your criminal defense lawyer should file a notice of your intent to testify before the grand jury. He should file the notice regardless of whether you have actually decided to testify before the grand jury. The notice preserves your right to testify before the grand jury and can be withdrawn at anytime.
Your criminal defense lawyer can also request that the court release you on your own recognizance or set reasonable bail. If you are charged with a misdemeanor or a violation the judge must set bail or release you on your own recognizance. If you are charged with a felony the judge may refuse to set bail and order you to be remanded to jail. If you are being held on a felony charge without bail or not able to post bail then your lawyer should seek the scheduling of a preliminary hearing at the earliest possible time unless you have other holds (i.e. parole or other criminal charges) or a major prosecution witness may become unavailable for the trial.
Please call me at 1-877-858-2889 if you are to be arraigned on any criminal charge. I am available 24/7. The intial consultation is free. If the case is not dismissed, I will negotiate a favorable plea bargain or take the case to trial.
