Your first court date: what happens at an arraignment
The first hearing is short, and it isn't where your case is decided. Knowing what it's for takes most of the fear out of it.
Most people's first court date is an arraignment: a short hearing where you're told the charge, asked how you plead, and given conditions for staying out of custody while the case goes on. It often takes five minutes after a long morning of waiting.
Before you go
- Bring the paperwork the police gave you
- Arrive early; security lines can be long
- Dress as you would for a job interview
- Leave anything you wouldn't want searched at home
Inside the courtroom
Cases are called one at a time. When yours is called, you stand at the front with your lawyer. The judge or clerk reads the charge, or your lawyer waives the reading.
The plea
At this stage the plea is almost always not guilty. That isn't a lie or a promise; it's how you keep every option open until your lawyer has seen the evidence.
Bail and conditions
The judge decides whether you'll be released and on what terms: no contact with a person, staying away from a place, giving up a license, checking in. Breaking a condition is a new problem of its own, so write them down and ask if anything is unclear.
Say as little as you can. Anything you say in the courtroom is said in public, on the record, in front of the prosecutor.
After the hearing
You'll leave with a next date. Between now and then, your lawyer asks for the reports and videos and starts reading. That's where the real work of the case begins.