17 Aug 26
When a person is arrested and accused of an offense, they will be subject to an arraignment as one of the initial steps in the criminal process. An arraignment refers to the first official court appearance and plays an essential role in the California criminal court process. Whether you have been accused of a felony or misdemeanor, you will be subject to this hearing. The process usually differs based on whether a person is facing misdemeanor or felony charges.
In this blog, we help you understand what specifically happens at a felony arraignment and what you can expect after in your criminal case.
Official Reading of Criminal Charges
During your felony arraignment, the presiding judge or officer will read the prosecution’s charge against you. Prosecutors file charges based on the specific facts surrounding the case. Reading the charges is considered official notice of the allegations. It ensures the defendant knows exactly what they are facing. You are entitled to listen to the complete list of criminal charges against you. If you do not understand anything, you also have the legal right to ask your lawyer.
The judge may read the charges before open court, which might make you feel overwhelmed or shocked. That is normal. The crucial thing to keep in mind is that that is just the beginning of your case, and there are still many opportunities ahead of you to obtain favorable results.
Being Advised of Your Legal Rights
The California and U.S. Constitutions empower citizens with various legal rights throughout criminal proceedings. At your arraignment, the judge will advise you of these rights. They include the following:
- The legal right to present and confront witnesses
- Legal right to jury trial. You have the right to a jury trial, during which witnesses and evidence can be presented.
- The right to a speedy trial (enforceable via something known as a speedy trial or Serna motion).
- Legal right against self-incrimination. You cannot be forced to testify against yourself at any given point in the criminal process.
- The legal right to attorney representation. This incorporates the legal right to be represented by a court-appointed public defender in case you cannot afford to hire a private lawyer.
Note that if you are charged with an infraction, only a few of those rights will apply. For example, you will have no right to a court-appointed lawyer or a jury trial. However, the case is different for a felony.
Entering a Plea
Once the judge or officer has finished reading the charges, they will ask you how you plead. This is known as entering a plea. You have 3 plea options. Each option has its own complications. The judge or officer will ask whether you plead no contest, not guilty, or guilty.
If you plead not guilty, it means you are asserting your intent to dispute the charges against you. Therefore, the criminal process will proceed towards a court trial. A not-guilty plea allows your lawyer to contest the evidence against you and negotiate a favorable deal with the prosecutor for you. If you plead guilty, it means you agree to have perpetrated the offense as charged. In that case, the criminal process will typically move straight to the sentencing hearing or further negotiations for a possible plea deal.
Pleading no contest or nolo contendere means you are not admitting to the accusations, but you are also not fighting them. Often, a defendant can plead no contest to stop the victim from using their admission of guilt against them in a lawsuit involving the same offense.
Whether you plead guilty, no contest, or not guilty, the steps that follow can significantly impact the outcome of your case. That is where a skilled criminal defense lawyer becomes invaluable. They can analyze the evidence, recommend an appropriate course of action, and counsel you on various legal strategies based on your circumstances.
In other cases, your defense lawyer may advise you to wait before you enter any plea, particularly if you have not seen the prosecution’s evidence against you yet. In certain cases, the judge might agree to delay plea-taking to allow your attorney time to assess everything before they decide how to move forward.
Setting of Bail and Release Conditions
Among the most crucial steps in a felony arraignment hearing is the court’s decision on whether to grant bail. If your felony offense is severe, the judge may deny bail. This would then mean you have to stay in custody until your case is resolved.
On the other hand, if your felony charges are not that serious, the judge may grant you an O.R. (own recognizance) release. That means you will not post any bail. Instead, you sign a written promise to return to court to continue your case. Judges usually set bail contingent on the nature of the crime, the defendant’s criminal record, and whether the defendant is a flight risk.
In certain cases, the judge may schedule a dangerousness proceeding to see whether it is safe to grant you a release altogether. If the judge denies you pretrial release, they will require you to remain behind bars until your case is resolved.
After setting bail, the judge will also impose various release conditions based on the facts of the case. For example, if the offense involves domestic violence, the judge may issue a stay-away or protective order against you. Other release conditions may include the following:
- Regular reporting to a pretrial services office
- Mandatory drug and alcohol counseling or testing for mental health or substance abuse
- Home detention or electronic location monitoring for higher-risk assessments
- A requirement not to violate any new law while released.
- Requirement not to travel outside of California without court permission and agreement to waive extradition if arrested out of the state.
Scheduling of the Subsequent Court Date
At the end of the arraignment hearing, the next court date will be scheduled. This could be a pretrial conference date or a trial date. This step of the arraignment is critical. If the court had released you on O.R. or bail, you would have to show up at all court dates.
Should you miss even one court date, the judge might issue a bench warrant against you. On the other hand, if you stayed in jail, your attorney would attend the court date for you or with you. The next court date marks the start of the next stage, whether it is pretrial, plea bargain negotiations, or trial preparations.
If you pleaded no contest or guilty, your case would be moved forward to sentencing. The sentencing step is when the judge determines what penalties to impose against you. Sentencing can occur immediately after you plead guilty or no contest, at the same arraignment hearing. However, sometimes judges want more details first. If that is the case, the presiding judge can schedule the sentencing for a later date. Meanwhile, the judge will seek probation. This provides information about your life, background, and the specific facts of the case.
The judge might want a probation officer’s input before imposing any penalties. That report will help the court determine whether it is appropriate for you to be subject to a probation sentence or whether a jail term is more suitable. The report might also have recommendations depending on the charges, your past, and whether or not you have ever been convicted before.
If the case is more severe or the criminal charges are intricate, the judge will usually wait for the probation report and schedule another court date for sentencing.
A Judge May Consider Victim Impact Statements
In many criminal cases, the judge might permit a victim or victims to read a statement or speak before imposing the sentence. These are known as victim impact statements. They can influence the judge’s ultimate decision. The victims may describe how the offense impacted them financially, physically, or emotionally. The judge takes these statements seriously, particularly in domestic abuse charges or other serious crimes involving property loss, injury, or death.
Even though your defense lawyer will be concentrating on proving your account of events, the judge also wishes to hear the victim’s side. This helps them see the complete picture before delivering a ruling. In some cases, victim impact statements can result in more severe punishment, while in others, they might help the judge determine that a more lenient sentence would be fair. Whichever the case, victim impact statements form part of the court process and might be provided during the sentencing proceeding.
A Judge Also Considers Mitigating and Aggravating Circumstances
In addition to the type of crime itself and the prior criminal record, a judge will consider the particular circumstances of the case before delivering a sentence. Some circumstances can increase the severity of a punishment. These are known as aggravating factors. Others can lower the severity of a sentence and are known as mitigating factors.
Aggravating factors may include the seriousness of the injury caused, the victim’s vulnerability at the time of the crime, or a sequence of previous crimes. Mitigating factors may include the absence of a prior criminal record, cooperation with the police, genuine remorse, or evidence of rehabilitation.
Your lawyer can help you develop a compelling positive case during sentencing by arguing just enough mitigating factors to minimize the effect of the aggravating circumstances that the prosecutor may argue. The objective is always to obtain the best possible outcome, even during sentencing.
Key Court Dates Following Arraignment
After your arraignment hearing ends, the judge sets a chronology of essential dates that propel your case forward. The dates are important as they help the defense and prosecution prepare and give the court a way to monitor the case’s progress.
Preliminary Hearing
The next significant step following a felony arraignment is generally a preliminary proceeding, also called a probable cause hearing. This is a unique court hearing during which the judge hears part of the evidence to determine whether the criminal case should proceed towards trial.
A preliminary hearing is not a complete trial. However, it is still essential since the D.A. must prove there is sufficient evidence to corroborate the accusations against you. At this proceeding, your defense lawyer can also try to find any loopholes in the prosecution’s case, ask questions, and contest witnesses’ testimony, particularly during direct cross-examination.
Should the judge agree there is sufficient evidence, your case will move forward. Otherwise, the charges may be dismissed or reduced entirely. That is why having a knowledgeable attorney at this point is critical.
Pretrial Conference
Once the pretrial stage ends, most courts hold a pretrial conference, also known as a trial readiness hearing or settlement conference. During this hearing, the judge, D.A., and your attorney meet to talk about your case’s status and decide whether it is ready for trial.
During this stage, the defense and prosecution discuss whether a plea deal is an option or the case should proceed to a complete court trial. The court judge may ask whether all motions have been completed, whether the attorneys believe a jury trial is necessary, and whether both sides have exchanged discovery.
If you pleaded not guilty and the defense and prosecution did not reach an agreement during the pretrial conference, the presiding judge might formally schedule a date for the trial. If the defense or prosecution reaches an agreement, the court might schedule a sentencing hearing or another proceeding to negotiate a favorable plea deal.
Bench or Jury Trial
If both sides fail to make a deal during the pretrial conference and your case moves forward, the judge will schedule a bench or jury trial, whichever one you choose and your lawyer believes is suitable for your case.
During a trial by jury, 12 individuals from the community (jurors) will hear the evidence against and for you and decide whether or not you are criminally liable. During a bench trial, a judge hears the evidence and decides the case. There is no jury present.
During the court trial, the D.A. will present evidence first, then your lawyer will respond. Their response includes directly cross-examining witnesses and presenting arguments in support of your defense strategy. After the judge hears all the evidence presented, the case will conclude with closing statements from the prosecution and the defense.
You Can Be Subject to Two Arraignments
Based on the felony case you face, you may be subject to more than one arraignment. That is because the accusation against you might change. For example, if the prosecution has accused you of murder, it might decide to lower your murder charges to voluntary manslaughter. In that case, you may be arraigned again, even though you were arraigned earlier.
When that happens, you usually plead the same way you pleaded at the previous arraignment unless you agreed to a plea deal. A second arraignment generally happens after the preliminary hearing. That is, if at the preliminary hearing, it is determined you have a case to answer, you must then appear at another arraignment that initiates the pretrial proceedings.
You Must Show Up for the Arraignment
If charged with a felony, you must personally appear at your court arraignment and other hearings. However, some exceptions apply, allowing you to attend the hearing via a 2-way video conference. Or, your presence can also be excused if you execute a written waiver and the judge agrees to it.
If you were charged with a misdemeanor offense, you could generally have your lawyer appear in court for you. That is, unless your charges are for domestic abuse, protective order violations, and aggravated offenses related to DUI, including PC 191.5(b), vehicular homicide while intoxicated, and VC 23153, DUI with injury.
At the end of the arraignment, you will likely leave with a copy of the formal complaint that the prosecution brought against you, potentially a copy of the police report about your charges, and potentially the prosecution’s offer to settle your case.
If you fail to appear in court, the presiding judge will generally issue a bench warrant, allowing police to rearrest you and return you straight to court. In felony cases, failure to appear can lead to separate felony charges.
Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Counsel Near Me
An arraignment sets the stage for everything that follows next in your felony case. It is usually your first chance to safeguard your rights when you are accused of a felony. Knowing what goes on at this hearing is essential, but it is also empowering. It can help you take control of the situation and prepare for what comes next. For one, it can help you avoid unnecessary custody problems, clarify release conditions, and establish the base for a compelling defense strategy going forward.
You want to go through the arraignment hearing with an experienced attorney by your side. Even though this might seem like a formality, you should not underestimate its importance. Even a small misstep can have severe, long-term effects on your case.
At Leah Legal, we will provide you with proper legal advice to help you avoid any costly mistakes. We will also provide the advocacy and guidance necessary to ensure your legal rights are safeguarded and to raise your odds for the best possible outcome. Call us at 818-484-1100 to share your case details if you are facing felony charges in Van Nuys, CA.
