Arraignment
When individuals are accused of committing Federal crimes, they are typically brought to federal court in the custody of federal agents, such as United States Marshalls. Generally, federal criminal charges are initiated against an individual when a complaint has been filed in federal court along with an affidavit, detailing the evidence against the accused.
Once the complaint and affidavit are filed, the defendant is brought to court to appear before a federal magistrate judge, after which the case will be referred to a Federal District Court Judge. The magistrate judge is in charge of determining whether the defendant will remain in Federal custody or if he or she will be released until the start of trial. If the Magistrate judge decides to release the defendant, the judge must also fix the conditions of the defendant’s release, such as requiring a bond or electronic monitoring bracelet. Contrary to State courts, where prosecutors are representatives of the city or county and known as “District Attorneys” or “City Attorneys,” federal prosecutors are known as “Assistant United States Attorneys” and represent specific districts of the federal government.
After the accused has made their initial appearance before a magistrate judge, a date is set by the court for the formal arraignment of the accused before a United States District Judge. Arraignment is, primarily, an opportunity for the accused and his Federal Criminal Defense Attorney to hear the charges filed against the accused and make an initial plea to the charges. In order for an accused to be brought to federal court for arraignment, however, the AUSA must also have either an indictment issued by a federal grand jury against the accused or bring the accused to federal court within 10 days for a preliminary hearing on the charges and satisfy a judge that there is probable cause that the crime was committed by the accused. In the event that an AUSA seeks to add additional charges against the accused after the initial indictment, the new indictment will be called a “superseding indictment.”
