What happens after an indictment?

The Indicted - Heather Newman Hart

http://community.lawyers.com/forums/t/67766.aspx

Once a person is indicted, the authorities often issue an arrest warrant.

Depending upon the nature of the charges, the person may arrange to surrender to the police and then post bail (or be released without having to post bail if the charges are relatively minor). If the charges are very serious, bail may not be an option. If the person cannot post bail, then he or she can sit in jail, but the actual preliminary hearing for the arraignment may have to occur more quickly in that case.

Most people, however, do not like sitting in jail and will bail out, if at all possible.

The first court date often is the arraignment. Most such preliminary hearings are pretty brief. (If the prelim is longer than 15 minutes, you have an unusual case.) The defendant can plead guilty or not guilty, etc.

If the defendant cannot afford an attorney, the usual course of action is to plead not guilty and ask for a public defender.

Discussions about a plea bargain, etc., generally do not occur before the arraignment as the many defendants are not assigned a public defender until the arraignment occurs. These discussions, if they occur at all, generally occur between the arraignment and actual trial date.


Second question:  What about the right to a speedy trial?