What happens at a Michigan criminal arraignment?
What happens at Michigan arraignments? Every criminal case has what is called an arraignment. This is the first hearing in a criminal case. The Michigan criminal arraignment process serves several purposes. Today we will go over what those functions are, what they entail, and how you can be prepared for your own arraignment. It serves several important functions, and it’s essential that you know what to expect when you or someone close to you is arraigned.
Arraignment Basics
There are several important things that people need to know about the Michigan arraignment process: Arraignments generally last less than 15 minutes. They’re very short proceedings, often lasting as little as five minutes or so from start to finish. During the arraignment is when the court informs defendants of their charges, enters a plea, sets bail, and if necessary cancels outstanding arrest warrants. This usually takes about five minutes to accomplish all four objectives.
Michigan criminal arraignment process
A defendant may be brought in court for arraignment after being arrested or notified of a pending charge or warrant. If you have a warrant for your arrest you should act to resolve it as soon as possible. Arraignment must occur within a reasonable time after arrest.
Reading of the charges
The following is the process for a standard Michigan criminal arraignment as it occurs at district court: A judge will read through the charges unless the defendant chooses to waive the formal reading of the complaint. This means that the court does not have to read the charges out loud because the defendant knows the nature of the charges. The defendant also is entitled to receive a copy of the charging document.
If you want legal advice during your arraignment then you’ll need to have an attorney accompany you. You can retain an attorney or the court will have a court-assigned counsel who will assist you with the process.
Entering a Plea
Next, the judge may also ask whether the defendant has entered pleas of guilty or not guilty or stands mute. Usually, the judge or magistrate will not enter a guilty plea at this time. Instead of pleading guilty, a judge will enter what’s known as a plea of not guilty. This means that the defendant is denying they committed the charges against them and has no intention of pleading guilty. If there were an attorney present then your lawyer would make this decision on your behalf after conferring with you about it.
If there was no attorney present then the defendant has to make these choices for themselves. The judge has to enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf, just as they would with any arraignment.
An arraignment on a charge does not mean that you will be convicted of a crime or that you are guilty of the charges. The Michigan criminal arraignment process is just the first step in a criminal case.
Setting Bond
Once the bond is set and done then the court will decide on how to set the bond. A bond proceeding is a critical part of a criminal case. A defendant might find themselves in jail for an extended period of time if they do not go well at the arraignment. An experienced attorney can help avoid this problem. The court looks at two factors when setting bonds. First, the court determines if the person is a risk of not appearing in court and if the person is a danger to the community.
If you are charged with a lower-level misdemeanor offense, like retail fraud, then you may be able to get out on a personal recognizance bond (PRB). In this case, it means you can be released without having to pay bail money upfront in order to secure your release from jail while awaiting trial. If you are charged with a more serious offense then the court will likely set a cash/surety bond. This means that if you want to be released from jail before your next court date then you have to pay money upfront for your release. It’s usually 10 percent of the full bail amount. Again, judges will make a decision regarding bond after considering:
- the seriousness of the charged offense
- criminal history (if any)
- ties to the community or state
- marital status
- employment status
- children
- any history of failing to appear in court
Setting a Court Date/Canceling Warrants
Lastly, the judge will set an official court date for the defendant’s next appearance before the court. If this is a misdemeanor case then it could be as soon as a few weeks. However, things like how busy the courts are or if you’ve been in jail since your arrest can affect that time frame by several weeks. If a warrant existed for this case, the court will cancel it.
However, the judge will also want to know whether or not there are outstanding arrest warrants for the defendant’s arrest. Michigan arraignments are more than just a chance to hear the charges against you and enter your plea. It’s also important that you understand some of the other functions of an arraignment. At an arraignment, warrants from other jurisdictions can be addressed. The purpose is to clear up outstanding warrants, if applicable, so that no one else can arrest you on those warrants while your case is pending (in addition to making sure those warrants get cleared out). If there are outstanding warrants then a judge will likely hold the defendant in custody until either the other jurisdiction will pick the defendant up or notify the court that they will not get the defendant.
If there aren’t any outstanding warrants then a judge may set you free with a personal or cash bond, with a specific condition that you appear in court on time and as scheduled. It’s very important to keep this court date; failure to do so could result in your arrest. If you miss your court date and you’ve been summoned then the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest. In that case, when police officers do find you they’ll arrest you without needing any further action on the arresting officer’s part. You’ll likely be held in jail until a judge can have an arraignment hearing to clear up why you missed your first court date.
Be mindful of your next court date. The biggest issue with bonds usually is missing a court date. Since there are so many factors involved and cases take many months or even years from arraignment to completion, you need to realize that you may have multiple court dates during this process. You should keep a calendar and write down every single one. You can’t just rely on your memory because if you miss one then the result could be jail time which would ruin everything else in your life going forward.
When You Should Contact a Lawyer
Now, court-appointed attorneys are available to assist you at arraignment. However, that attorney only sees you for just the arraignment. If you’re charged with a crime, then it’s usually worth contacting an experienced criminal defense lawyer to help through the Michigan criminal arraignment process. Your personal attorney will continue to represent you through your entire case. It’s always better to have a lawyer on your side for long-term representation. An experienced defense lawyer will be able to advise you on what you should or shouldn’t do and will help protect your rights as much as possible. The sooner you contact them, the more time they’ll have to work on developing favorable facts and defending them in court.
Knowing what to do at your arraignment can be confusing and intimidating. However, it’s very important to get everything correct because a little mistake could lead to a much bigger problem for you later on in the criminal court process. If you need help understanding the Michigan criminal arraignment process or want more information about Michigan arraignments then you should talk to an attorney.
Furthermore, your lawyer can also help you understand the evidence against you and how to better protect yourself from a conviction should the case go to trial. Finally, an attorney will know what questions to ask and what information you should have about your case. They’ll be able to advise you of any legal defenses available and whether there are reasons why the prosecutor or judge may want to dismiss charges without going through a trial.
Steps You Can Take Now To Prepare For Your Michigan Criminal Arraignment
Contact your lawyer as soon as possible. What a lawyer can do for you.
- Preserve Evidence. They can do things like preserve evidence, talk to eyewitnesses, identify potential witnesses who may be helpful for your case, and look into the charges. The attorney will also be able to talk with you about what happened in your case that led to the charges being filed against you and which law enforcement agency may have been involved.
- Resolve charges. If you hire an attorney early enough in the process, an attorney might be able to resolve some issues by talking with the prosecutor. This may persuade them into dismissing some charges before the arraignment. If you wait until the actual arraignment then it may be too late to do something like this.
- Address bond. An attorney will be able to address bond and bond conditions. The judge will set conditions for any type of bond, which means that you’ll have to agree to specific conditions in order to be released on bond. For example, you might have to agree to keep your current address updated with the court. The court may impose travel restrictions, tethers, no contact orders, counseling, among many others. An attorney can argue that some of the conditions are unnecessary in addition to what conditions of release are reasonable given the circumstances of your case. An attorney can help you get a better result in the case than if you were to represent yourself regarding bond and bond conditions.
- Waive the arraignment. At times, an attorney can waive the official arraignment. This means that you will not have to go to court. A waiver can only occur if a defendant has an attorney. Defense counsel can facilitate this process by contacting the court and filing an appearance. The attorney’s announcement that they will represent you may be sufficient for the court to cancel the formal arraignment. An attorney can also submit a waiver of arraignment form to the court.
A criminal defense attorney plays a vital role at the arraignment. At Czarnecki & Taylor, we are familiar with the district courts in the tri-county area. We frequently persuade the courts to issue our clients personal bonds. At other times we persuade the court to set a lower bond or eliminate certain bond conditions.
Having a trained attorney speak to the court on your behalf related to bond will likely influence the judge in setting personal or lower bonds. Without a lawyer, a defendant may say something that hurts their personal or low bond chances. Having a retained, trained attorney making the argument on your behalf will persuade the judge to set a personal or lower bond. An experienced criminal defense attorney has spent years training and perfecting their craft so they know how to best defend clients at all phases of cases including arraignments where it’s crucial that defendants be released with low bonds when possible so as not to interfere too much with work schedules by sitting in jail.
The most important part about these hearings is that your attorney has ample time beforehand to make preparations for each phase of the case. An attorney will see to it that the first pretrial date or probable cause conference is scheduled on a date that allows them time to obtain the police reports and any other evidence. Having the appropriate time to strategize prepare puts the attorney in a better position to talk with the prosecutor. Unfortunately, a court-appointed lawyer never has the opportunity to get all of the discovery before the first court date after the arraignment.
If you’re charged with a crime, then it’s usually worth contacting a criminal defense lawyer. It’s always better to have a lawyer on your side. An experienced defense lawyer will be able to advise you on what you should or shouldn’t do and will help protect your rights as much as possible. You’ll want someone who has experience handling Michigan criminal court hearings because they can evaluate the facts of your particular case and determine if there are any defenses available that might help explain why you committed the alleged offense(s).
At Czarnecki & Taylor, we have more than 25 years of combined criminal law experience. We can provide the representation that you need for your arraignment and future court hearings in your case.
No matter which court you’re in, we can help. Call (586) 718-2345 or contact us online to discuss your case with an experienced attorney.
Czarnecki & Taylor is a law firm located in Michigan that handles cases in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. We have more than 25 years of combined criminal law experience. If you’re facing misdemeanor or felony charges schedule a free initial case consultation to answer any questions that you may have about your legal rights and options for handling your charges.