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GOING TO COURT FOR THREE MONTHS AND WAS NEVER ARRAIGNED UNTIL 2 WEEKS BEFORE PRELIMINARY HEARING IS THIS VIOLATION OF MY RIGHTS
Anonymous5 views3 answers
A FAMILY MEMBER WAS ARRESTED WENT TO COURT CHARGES WERE STATED BUT HE WAS NEVER ARRAIGNED. HE HAS SINCE BEEN GOING TO COURT FOR 3 MONTHS AND ONLY CONTINUANCES WERE THE OUTCOME. FINALLY REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING WAS DEMANDED BY MY RELATIVE TO HIS LAWYER SO THEN HE WAS ARRAIGNED AND PRELIM WAS SCHEDULED FOR TWO WEEKS LATER. AT THE PRELIM, THE JUDGE STATED 60 DAYS FROM ARRAIGNMENT HE IS REQUIRED TO HAVE A PRELIMINARY HEARING. WAS THAT A VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHTS FOR NOT BEING FORMALLY ARRAIGNED AFTER OVER 60 DAYS FROM INITIAL ARREST AND HE HAS NEVER BEEN ISSUED ANY TYPE OF PAPER WORK ABOUT HIS CASE OR CHARGES.
Not if he agreed to have the arraignment continued. I don't know the facts of the case, but there could have been a strategic reason the attorney wanted to do that. Your relative's uninformed pressure on the attorney may have done harm to the case.
Of course, only the lawyer would know. S/he would be in abetter position to answer this question. That is where the question should be directed. Without understanding what exactly happened and why, there is no way to further answer this. Again, consult with the lawyer working on the case.
Good luck.
The public defender undoubtedly waived time up to the point of arraignment, so the wait until the preliminary hearing was 2 weeks rather than 3 months. Not a violation of speedy trial rights.
There may be a problem as you describe it if time was not waived. Can you go to the courthouse and get a copy of the minutes from the case? That will usually indicate if time was waived. Then you'll know if there was a violation. Good luck.
