Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
I have a family member who is charged with felony residential burglary in CA. She has had a preliminary hearing and now 15 days later, she is having something called the "arraignment of the information". What is this step for and is it also when the trial will start?
3 Answers from Attorneys
The original charging document is called the "complaint". If at the preliminary hearing the judge rules that there's enough evidence to hold your family member for trial, they then appear in court to be re-arraigned on a different charging document called the "Information". They enter another not guilty plea and they have a right to a trial within 60 calendar days of that arraignment on the information. If they waive their right to a speedy trial and agree to set it beyond the 60 days, then their trial would start on the selected date or within 10 days of that date.
She's being arraigned because the judge found enough evidence against her to go to trial. The "information" is the word for criminal complaint. Thus, the arraignment is where the court will allow her to hear the complaint with all its charges against her. At the arraignment the court will set a trial date. She should get a lawyer immediately. Good luck.
She is being rearraigned now that the judge sitting as a magistrate found enough evidence to hold her to answer for burglary.
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