TITLE TWO — PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS
Rule 7. Initial Appearance and Arraignment
Time of Arraignment.
Upon Summons. A defendant who has been criminally charged and summoned shall be brought for arraignment before a court if then in session; and if not, at its next session.
Upon Arrest. A defendant arrested upon a criminal information or an indictment shall be brought for arraignment as soon as a judge is available, and in no event later than the expiration of the pre-trial detention period fixed by Rule 7.1(2). Where the period expires before a judge is available, the defendant shall be released and shall be arraigned upon the next return day set by the court.
Upon Charges Filed After a First Appearance. A defendant charged while in custody following a first appearance held under Rule 3.1 shall be arraigned as 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b)(a)(2) requires and Rule 7.2(3) provides, and shall be allowed to enter a plea at that arraignment.
Where No First Appearance Was Held. A person arrested subsequent to an in-game incident before whom no state judge was present in game is booked and serves the sentencing timer as Rule 6.1(7) provides, no first appearance having been available. Where an accusatory instrument is thereafter filed upon that conduct, the defendant is summoned or arrested upon it and is arraigned as paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subdivision provides.
Where Held. Arraignment shall be conducted in open court in the proceeding communications designated for the matter, or in-game where the court so directs.
Arraignment Procedure.
Notice; Plea; Conditions of Release. The court shall:
identify the defendant by username and confirm that the defendant is the person named in the accusatory instrument;
read the charges to the defendant in open court, except that the reading of the charges in open court may be waived by the defendant if he or she is represented by counsel;
enter the defendant’s plea to the charges;
inform the defendant of all warnings and advisories required by law; and
Advisories. The warnings and advisories required by subdivision (2)(a)(iv) of this rule include:
the nature and cause of the accusation, and the right to be heard by oneself and by counsel, under Const. art. I § 6;
the right to remain silent, and that any statement made may be used against the defendant;
the maximum sentence upon each charge and any mandatory minimum;
that trial will be to the court without a jury, except that upon a charge of treason the defendant may demand trial by an impartial jury, as provided by 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.111 and 131.306;
the right to a speedy trial, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.305;
that no bond or bail hearing is available in this State, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.205, and the conditions of release the court may impose; and
the consequences of a failure to appear, including the entry of a criminal default, the issuance of a default warrant for re-arrest, and proceedings to declare the defendant a fugitive from justice under 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.502–131.508 and Rule 33; and
the presence warning required by 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(c) and Rule 18.1, which the court shall give in full and in the form prescribed, and which the clerk shall enter upon the docket as Rule 18.1(5) requires.
Provision of Criminal Record; Preservation of Evidence. The court shall ensure that at or before arraignment (i) a copy of the defendant’s criminal record, if any, is provided to the parties, and (ii) the parties are afforded an opportunity to move for the preservation of evidence.
Order Scheduling Pretrial Proceedings. At every arraignment upon a criminal information at which the defendant enters a plea of not guilty, the court shall either schedule the case for a preliminary hearing under Rule 7.2 or state upon the record its determination not to permit one, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b)(b) commits that question to the court’s discretion. In every Superior Court case the court shall in addition issue an order at arraignment requiring the prosecuting attorney and defense counsel to (i) engage in a pretrial conference on a date certain, and (ii) appear at a pretrial hearing on a specified subsequent date. The dates set shall fall within the period allowed by Rule 46(1). Where a preliminary hearing is scheduled, the dates so set shall follow it.
Appearance of Counsel. Arraignment shall consist of the reading of the charges to the defendant and the entry of the defendant’s plea to those charges.
Filing. An appearance shall be entered by the attorney for the defendant and the prosecuting attorney on or before the arraignment. The appearance may be entered either by personally appearing before the clerk or by filing a Notice of Appearance through the electronic filing system, which shall include the username and State Bar license number of the attorney. An attorney appearing on behalf of an organization shall also file with the court proof of the attorney’s authorization to represent the organization. A Notice of Appearance may be filed by an attorney who is not yet a participant in the case; it is the only paper an attorney may file before appearing.
Effect. An appearance shall be in the name of the attorney who files the appearance and shall constitute a representation that the attorney shall represent the defendant for trial or plea or shall prosecute the case, except that, if at the arraignment such a representation cannot be made and no contrary legal restriction applies, (i) the court may permit an appearance to be entered by an attorney to represent the defendant or prosecute the case for such time as the court may order, and (ii) the court shall permit an appearance in the name of the prosecuting agency, which shall constitute representations that the agency will prosecute the case, will ensure that throughout the duration of the appearance a prosecutor is assigned to the case, and upon request of the court or a party will identify the prosecutor assigned to the case.
Withdrawal; Substitution. If the attorney who files an appearance for the defendant on or before the arraignment wishes to withdraw the appearance, he or she may do so within four days of the arraignment, provided that the attorney who shall represent the defendant at trial files an appearance simultaneously with such withdrawal; thereafter no appearance shall be withdrawn without permission of the court. The appearance of the prosecuting officer shall be withdrawn only with permission of the court. An attorney of record remains attorney of record, and remains responsible to the court and to the client, until successor counsel has entered an appearance that has been accepted for filing, or until the clerk has struck the representation by rejecting a Notice of Appearance. The filing of a notice of withdrawal, standing alone, does not sever the representation and does not relieve counsel of any duty in the case. Upon any withdrawal or substitution under this paragraph the court shall cause the presence warning to be given anew as Rule 18.1(4)(f) requires, and successor counsel shall certify its communication as Rule 18.1(6) provides.
Notice. A copy of all appearances and withdrawals of appearance shall be filed. Service is effected by the electronic filing system upon the clerk’s acceptance of the filing, as provided by Rule 2.1(6), and the fact of the appearance or withdrawal shall also be announced in the proceeding communications.
Record of Arraignment. The court shall enter upon the docket the fact and time of arraignment, the plea entered, the appointment of counsel if any, the conditions of release if any, and the dates set under subdivision (2)(e). The order shall be entered by the court through the judicial routes of the electronic filing system and is served upon the participants upon its acceptance.
Arraignment Upon an Amended or Superseding Instrument. Where an amended accusatory instrument is filed under Rule 4(9), or a superseding accusatory instrument is filed under Rule 3.2(11), the court shall arraign the defendant upon that instrument. A plea previously entered stands as to any count carried forward unchanged, unless the defendant elects to plead anew.
Failure to Appear. Where a defendant fails to appear for arraignment after proper notice, the court may enter a criminal default and issue a default warrant under Rule 18.2 and, upon petition of the government, may proceed under Rule 33. A trial shall be held in the defendant’s absence only upon an express waiver of presence under Rule 18(c) or upon an absentia authorization entered under Rule 18.3, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.501 provides. Where the defendant has not been arraigned, the presence warning has not been given, and the court shall not proceed under Rule 18.3 until the warning has been given in a manner Rule 18.1(3) permits. The court shall cause the curative steps prescribed by Rule 18.1(8) to be taken.