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What is Arraignment?

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If you are charged with committing a crime, there are many different hearings that you might have to attend. One of those is an Arraignment. What is an Arraignment? An arraignment is the first court appearance or first court date someone receives after they get out of jail on bond or after they receive a traffic ticket. Some counties don’t give you a court date immediately. Other counties will mail you a court date. Sometimes it can be a while before you have your first court date.

What is the purpose of Arraignment? Arraignment is to notify you what your charges are and give you an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty. In Georgia, every defendant has the right to an arraignment in a felony and misdemeanor case.

Sometimes the charge you were originally given or arrested for is not the same charge that the prosecutor is going forward on. This means that they can charge you with something more serious or charge you with something less serious.

Arraignment is not the time where you can present evidence or argue your case to the judge.  It is simply the time to enter guilty or not guilty and hear the formal charges the prosecutor is moving forward against you on. In all, not much happens at Arraignment. Ideally, you should have an attorney to represent you at arraignment. A lawyer can appear in court on your behalf and waive arraignment to excuse you from court.

If you or someone you know has been arrested or charged with a crime or is under investigation, having a lawyer help you through the process can ensure your rights are protected. Contact the Law Office of Scott Smith today for a free consultation at 404-581-0999.

 

Georgia Court Dates

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Months ago, you had one of your worst days ever: you were arrested. The time it took to bond out seemed like an eternity. But you’re finally out of jail, and you swear you’ll never be back. Weeks pass, and it all seems like a bad dream. Until one day you check your mail and find a letter from a superior, state or municipal court. The letter is about your arrest. It says you have to be in court on specific days for arraignment, motions, and calendar call. The letter also says if you don’t appear as instructed, you may be issued a bench warrant. But what do these terms mean?

Arraignments

Then and Now

Let’s start with arraignment. Arraignment is a word from British common law adapted into the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Literacy was at an all-time low during the olden days of England. Arraignment was created by their judicial system to tell illiterate defendants their pending charges. Prosecutors would do this by reading defendants’ charges to them in open court, since they couldn’t read the law themselves. Defendants would then be given the opportunity to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

Similarly, modern arraignment is the court date at which defendants enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Should you choose Peachstate Lawyer as your legal representation, we will file the appropriate paperwork to ensure you do not have to be in court for arraignment. That paperwork is called a “waiver” of formal arraignment. The waiver we file enables you to enter a plea of not guilty without having to go in front of a judge. The waiver also preserves your attorney’s right to file motions in your case and receive discovery (i.e. evidence) from the state about your case.

Motions

That brings us to the next most important court date in your case: motions. Depending on the county, you may or may not have to be in court for motions. But rest assured that Peachstate Lawyer will file appropriate motions in your case. Motions are important pre-trial steps to contest the state’s evidence against you. Sometimes motions can get a case thrown out all-together. So, it is very important that you have legal defense, like us, who know which motions to file, and ultimately argue, on your behalf.

Calendar Call

Finally, the last court date referenced in the judicial notice you received is for calendar call. My rule of thumb is to instruct all of my clients to be present at calendar call. Most counties in Georgia issue bench warrants for those who do not appear as instructed. And while that is something our firm can take care of, it is in your best interest to avoid having a bench warrant issued for you. (After all, you swore you’d never go back to jail after bonding out months ago.)

Calendar Call is the date at which your attorney tells the Judge how you plan to resolve your case. Even though you initially entered a plea of not guilty, you may decide to resolve you case by guilty plea if don’t want to have a jury trial & your attorney secured a plea offer that you want to accept. Alternatively, your attorney may also announce ready for trial and your case will be added to the Judge’s next trial calendar.

If you’ve received judicial notice in the mail and do not know what to do next, contact our office today for a free consultation.

by Sarah Armstrong

What Is Arraignment?

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WHAT IS ARRAIGNMENT?

“What is arraignment?”

That’s the first question every client asks us when they receive their first court date, and it’s a great one.   Most of our clients have either received a court date prior to meeting with us or they were told when they leave the jail that they will receive an arraignment date in the near future.  So, what is arraignment?

In Georgia, every person is entitled to due process of law under the Georgia Constitution and the United States Constitution.  A citizen’s due process rights include the right to be placed on notice of any charges the State intends to seek.   The State files charges through either a formal indictment or accusation. These documents are ultimately the framework of how the case will proceed.  As such, arraignment is the first opportunity for the court to inform the accused of the charges against them.  Under Georgia law, every person accused of a crime has the right to be arraigned.  Formal arraignment is when the court reads the charges in open court and an accused has an opportunity to enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty. courtroomdoorfrombench1 (1)

So what actually happens in court at the arraignment hearing?  From a practical stand-point three things happen at arraignment.   First, one of our lawyers will likely inform the court that we are waiving formal arraignment (reading of the charges in open court) because we have received the actual charging document and we would prefer, for the sake of privacy, for our clients charges not to be read in front of hundreds of people.  Second, we enter a plea of not guilty.  At this juncture the State has not provided the evidence they intend to use at trial and we would essentially be accepting guilt without evaluating the case.  Thus, it makes sense to plead not guilty, collect evidence, and then proceed accordingly.  Finally, we inform the court that we will be filing legal motions and ask the court for ten-days to file.  Legal motions cover many issues including asking the Judge to force the State to provide evidence, suppress evidence, hold a hearing on legal issues, and many other topics.

If you have been charged with a crime then your case will eventually be set for an arraignment hearing.  Please contact our office today at 404-581-0999 for a free consultation at either our downtown location or our Marietta location to discuss arraignment and how we can help with your case.