What Happens at an Arraignment in a California Criminal Case?
Hripsime Bagdasaryan's Answer
Criminal Lawglendale, USA8 years experience
Hripsime Bagdasaryan's Answer
At an arraignment in California, defendants typically enter a plea of not guilty, with their attorney present for misdemeanor cases, while in felony cases, bail may be discussed and argued for adjustments.
Missing arraignment may lead to default judgments or further legal complications.
Failure to properly argue for bail could result in unmanageable financial burdens.
Entering the wrong plea at arraignment can affect the defendant's legal strategy.
Lack of attorney representation might compromise the defendant's rights and options.
Below is an AI-generated transcript of the video answer.
What happens at an arraignment in a criminal case in California? So in
California on your arraignment date on a misdemeanor case you don't have to be
present at your arraignment. Your attorney will go on your behalf and
enter a plea of not guilty, grab all of the discovery that's available to them
at that time, meaning police reports, the copy of the complaint, things like that,
whatever they have initially, and picks a new court date and leaves. In
felony land, arraignments are a little bit more complicated in that bail could
be involved at an arraignment. So if bail is set and you know the person is in
custody, at the arraignment what happens is the attorney again goes with their
client, enters a plea of not guilty, then the topic of bail is discussed if the
person is in custody. And your attorney has opportunity to argue for lower bail,
argue for no bail, things like that, and then perhaps the client is released,
perhaps bail is reduced, but bail is generally addressed in felony cases at
arraignment as well. So it just kind of depends, but the common denominator is
that you will enter a plea of not guilty and then you'll pick your next court
date. That's about it.
Criminal Law Lawyer
glendale, USA
