WHAT IS AN ARRAIGNMENT???

An arraignment is when the Court officially takes jurisdiction over a case. Everyone comes together in front of a judge and they formally charge the person with the crime alleged. A plea is entered at that time (GUILTY/NOT GUILTY). If a NOT GUILTY PLEA is entered, the Court must then decide whether the person charged should stay in jail or be released. The Court sets a BAIL. The Court usually tries to assess flight risk when considering bail. This means, the Court, which does not know your loved one, will have to figure out whether he or she will return to Court. They use lots of factors, including the nature of the charges, the person’s job history and educational background, and whether or not the person has significant ties to the community. They also take note of who has bothered to come to court on behalf of the person during the arraignment. IT IS THE LAWYER WHO WILL ARGUE THE BAIL APPLICATION. There may be no BAIL. In that case, the person is released on his or her own recognizance (ROR). That means the person can leave and will come back at a later date. If a bail is set, the person will be held until bail is posted.THE REST OF THE CASE WILL BE DEALT WITH AT LATER DATES. THERE WILL NOT BE A TRIAL ON THE DAY OF ARRAIGNMENT.

In New York City Criminal Courts, Arraignments usually happen from 9am to 1am – 7 days a week (except Staten Island/Richmond County).

What is a DP?

DP stands for “Decline Prosecution” or when the District Attorney (DA) declines to prosecute a case. This means that someone who has been arrested will not have any further action taken against him or her. While the DA can file charges at a later date, often, this does not occur. Sometimes, someone will say they were DP’ed. When someone is released after arrest but before the arraignment (released before seeing a Judge) because the DA decides to decline prosecute a case, it is said that they were DPed.

In some situations, a person who was DP’d may want to consider contacting a lawyer regarding a possible civil rights suit and/or false imprisonment, false arrest action. This is especially the case where a person who was arrested suffers damages. Damages can be due to police brutality but may arise from someone losing days of work, having expenses as a result of an arrest, or from property damage that occurs as a result to or incident to an arrest.

If you are looking to talk to a lawyer regarding a civil rights case against the City of New York, you should do so RIGHT AWAY. There are may rules that can bar your case if you don’t take action within a certain amount of time. This applies to suits against the City in general, including false arrest, malicious prosecution, excessive force, civil rights, police brutality, false imprisonment, and similar cases. While our firm handles these cases, this information, as with the rest of the information on our site, is provided for informational purposes and is not intended to create an attorney/client – lawyer/client relationship. You should discuss these issues with your lawyer.

New York Arraignment Process

An Explanation of the Arraignment Process in New York City Courts. This information is provided so that loved ones and family members of someone arrested in New York City can have information that will help get a Loved One home quicker after he or she has been arrested. These items will help one track someone from arrest to arraignment. See our full video that describes the process from arrest to arraignment for more information.