Which comes first preliminary hearing or arraignment?

Which comes first preliminary hearing or arraignment?

The preliminary hearing is where the judge decides if there is enough evidence mounted against you for you to stand trial. The arraignment is where you can file your plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest. Your arraignment can happen immediately after the preliminary hearing or scheduled for a later date.

What happens at preliminary arraignment?

At an arraignment hearing, the accused enters a plea (guilty, not guilty or no contest), the issue of bail and release is determined, and a future court date is set – usually for the pretrial or, in a felony case, the preliminary hearing.

What is the process of being arrested?

When an officer arrests someone, the accused is taken into custody. Similarly, when a grand jury returns an indictment or a prosecutor files an information, a judge or magistrate issues a warrant for the arrest of the person charged if not already under arrest, and the person is taken into custody.

What can I expect at arraignment?

An arraignment is typically the first court proceeding in a criminal case. At the arraignment hearing, defendants are advised of the charges that have been filed as well as their legal and constitutional rights. Afterward, they are given an opportunity to enter a plea of not guilty, guilty, or no contest.

What happens at the preliminary hearing?

The preliminary hearing is like a mini-trial. The prosecution will call witnesses and introduce evidence, and the defense can cross-examine witnesses. If the judge concludes there is probable cause to believe the crime was committed by the defendant, a trial will soon be scheduled.

What happens at an arraignment after a preliminary hearing?

If the charges change in some way, the court may be required to arraign the accused again, well after the initial court appearance. For example, in many cases, the court will arraign a defendant charged with a felony on the initial complaint, then arraign him or her again after the preliminary hearing, on the information.

Do you go to jail at a preliminary hearing?

It is very unlikely that you would go to jail at the preliminary hearing. The court’s job is not to find the defendant guilty or not guilty. Instead, the judge’s role is to determine whether there is enough evidence for the charges to proceed to the Court of Common Pleas for trial.

What happens at the initial hearing of a criminal case?

Initial Hearing / Arraignment. At that time, the defendant learns more about his rights and the charges against him, arrangements are made for him to have an attorney, and the judge decides if the defendant will be held in prison or released until the trial.

Which is the first step in the arraignment process?

The Arraignment Process at a Glance Arraignment is the first stage of courtroom-based criminal proceedings, after the arrest, booking, and initial bail phases. During a typical arraignment, a person charged with a crime is called before a criminal court judge, who: Reads the criminal charge (s) against the person (now called the “defendant”);