arraignment
An arraignment is the first step in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is brought in front of the court to hear the charges against them and enter a plea .
See, e.g. County of Riverside v. McLaughlin 500 U.S. 44 (1991) and Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389 (1993) .
[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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