Arraignment

The arraignment is the first formal court date in a Massachusetts state criminal prosecution. If you are scheduled for an arraignment, that means that a criminal complaint has already issued against you. You are formally read the charges against you in open court, your lawyer will receive the criminal complaint and initial police report, and there will be a hearing on bail, conditions of release, and potentially other issues relating to your release (or non- release) from court that day.

An arraignment is the first date you appear in court and face the judge after having been arrested. An arraignment can also be sent to you by way of a summons in the mail, if you weren’t arrested. Other than having not been cuffed, brought to the police station, and booked there, your case that is scheduled for a summons arraignment will be prosecuted the same way as those who have been arrested. There are various factors that come into play as to why you might have been sent a summons arraignment rather than arrested. The most common factors include situations where the alleged crime did not occur in the presence of a police officer, or it does not involve violence/ harm/ threat to another’s safety, or if there is no reason to believe you need to be placed in custody prior to the arraignment.

Whether you have been arrested and held in custody and transported directly to court for your arraignment, or you were arrested and bailed out at the station, or you are appearing at your arraignment by way of a summons, there are many crucial aspects to an arraignment for which you’ll want your lawyer to be prepared. Depending on the nature of the charged offense(s) and your record, the prosecutor may be asking that you be held on a cash bail, conditions of release, have prior bail order revoked, or be held without bail on dangerousness grounds. Even if you walked into court that day after having posted bail at the station, those circumstances can change drastically once the case is first assigned to the prosecuting attorney at your arraignment. The prosecutor is not bound by the bail or conditions of release set by the commissioner at the police station, nor is the judge.

If the prosecutor moves for 58A detention (dangerousness) at your arraignment, you will be placed into custody and held in jail for 3-7 days until a full hearing to determine whether you’ll be held up to 120 days without bail on such grounds, in district court. If you’re held on 58A after a Superior Court arraignment, then you’ll be held up to 180 days, in addition to any time you might have been held when your case was still in district court prior to indictment. If the prosecutor requests that you have to post a cash bail before being released from court (even if you are not in custody), there will be a bail hearing to determine whether you’ll be released on personal recognizance (your promise to appear at the next court event) or what if any cash bail or conditions will be imposed. The prosecutor may request, and the court may order, conditions of release that significantly impact your livelihood, such as staying out of your own home during the pendency of a domestic violence case, or not driving during the course of being prosecuted for motor vehicle crimes, as just two examples. If you already have an open case when you arrive to your arraignment, the prosecutor may move to revoke your bail (even if you are out on personal recognizance) on that open case, and have you held without bail for up to 90 days. These are just some of the issues that can arise at an arraignment, along with dozens more. It is important to bring an experienced Massachusetts attorney who can review all of the relevant factors and fiercely advocate for your release and minimize the conditions of your release at your arraignment.

Contact Urbelis Law prior to your scheduled arraignment. (617) 830- 2188