can a misdemeanour subpoena without a stated cause of action be dismissed by defendant at arraignment
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can a misdemeanour subpoena without a stated cause of action be dismissed by defendant at arraignment
Asked on July 2, 2009 under Criminal Law, Florida
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
The original purpose of an arraignment is to inform the defendant of the charges against him. Usually, in modern courts, the charges have been put in writing and given to the defendant ahead of time, and an attorney who's appearing with a defendant who has the written charges will usually waive the reading of the complaint. Either way, this satisfies the due process requirement of notice.
In your case, if you aren't given a copy of the complaint when you arrive at the courthouse, you'll probably get it when you are arraigned; there's nothing that says you have to waive having it read out loud, and if it still doesn't tell you what you're being charged with, a motion to dismiss might well be the way to go. But I think you would want to have a lawyer there for that, and it's a good idea in any case. One place to find defense counsel is our website, http://attorneypages.com
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
The original purpose of an arraignment is to inform the defendant of the charges against him. Usually, in modern courts, the charges have been put in writing and given to the defendant ahead of time, and an attorney who's appearing with a defendant who has the written charges will usually waive the reading of the complaint. Either way, this satisfies the due process requirement of notice.
In your case, if you aren't given a copy of the complaint when you arrive at the courthouse, you'll probably get it when you are arraigned; there's nothing that says you have to waive having it read out loud, and if it still doesn't tell you what you're being charged with, a motion to dismiss might well be the way to go. But I think you would want to have a lawyer there for that, and it's a good idea in any case. One place to find defense counsel is our website, http://attorneypages.com
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