Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
Call Us NowPosted on
An arraignment is the first formal court proceeding in a criminal case. For felony charges, an arraignment must generally occur within 48 hours of a defendant’s arrest if he/she is held in custody. If a defendant is not kept in custody, then the proceeding must typically take place “without unnecessary delay.”
An arraignment is a stage in the criminal court process where:
In terms of a trial date, the U.S. Constitution and the constitution of individual states guarantee defendants the right to a speedy trial. For felony cases, this means defendants have the right to have a case be brought to trial within 60 days after the date of the arraignment.
An arraignment is a defendant’s first formal court appearance in the criminal justice system. It occurs in criminal cases and marks a defendant’s first appearance in court following an arrest.
In felony cases, if a defendant committed an offense requiring him/her to remain in custody, most jurisdictions say that the accused must be arraigned within 48 hours of an arrest. This time does not include weekends and holidays.
If there is an unreasonable delay between the arrest and a defendant’s arraignment, the delay may convert an otherwise lawful arrest into an unlawful detention. Unlawful detention is a type of potential police misconduct that may entitle the accused to receive civil (or monetary) damages.
Note, though, that unlawful detention will not typically result in a dismissal of the case, unless:
If an accused is being arraigned on a felony complaint that does not require him/her to remain in custody, then most states say the defendant must be arraigned without unnecessary delay. In reality, if custody is not involved in a case, it may take weeks or even months before an arraignment occurs.
Arraignment hearings take place in both misdemeanor cases and felony cases.
Judges use these hearings as an opportunity to:
As to a defendant’s Constitutional rights, note that both the United States Constitution and state constitutions grant defendants with a variety of rights that they may exercise at an arraignment and during a criminal court case.
Some of these rights include:
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and all state constitutions guarantee defendants the right to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial is the right to receive a jury trial reasonably quickly after the beginning of a criminal case.
As to felony cases, this right means a defendant must be brought to trial within 60 days of the date of either:
Note, though, that a defendant may waive this right or agree to a court date that takes place long after sixty days. It is often in a defendant’s interest to postpone a trial as the delay gives the defense counsel more time to gather evidence and discredit the arguments of the prosecuting attorney.
California law generally follows the rules and laws discussed above. In California felony cases, an accused must be arraigned within 48 hours after he/she was arrested if still in custody.[2] If the defendant was released from confinement, then he/she must be arraigned without unnecessary delay.[3]
Note that the above 48-hour rule applies to all crimes that require a person to remain in custody, regardless of whether they are felonies or misdemeanors. That said, most defendants are released following a misdemeanor arrest.
When this is the case, the misdemeanor arraignment hearing generally does not take place for at least ten days following an arrest.[4]
Regarding speedy trial rights, every criminal defendant in the State of California has this trial right in criminal proceedings.
The right is set forth in both:
As to felony cases, the latter statute says that a defendant must be brought to trial within 60 days of the date of either the arraignment or reinstatement of the case.[5]
A defendant can always waive this right and a trial can take place after 60 days if the trial court finds “good cause” to hold the trial later.
Examples of when there is a showing of good cause include when:
Note that a Serna motion is a motion to dismiss a criminal case because the defendant was denied his /her constitutional right to a speedy trial.[9]
Serna motions are also known as “speedy trial motions.” They are filed as part of the pretrial process under California criminal law.
A successful Serna motion will result in the judge dismissing any charges filed against the defendant.
[1] See, for example, Dragna v. White (1955) 45 Cal.2d 469.
[2] California Penal Code 825 PC.
[3] California Penal Code 859 PC.
[4] California Penal Code 853.6 PC.
[5] California Penal Code 1382 PC.
[6] People v. Sutton (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 35.
[7] People v. Stiehl (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 720.
[8] Stanley v. Superior Court (Cal.App.1st Dist. June 9, 2020) 2020 Cal.App. LEXIS 506.
[9] Serna v. Superior Court (1985) 40 Cal.3d 23.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.