arraignment

The formal court proceeding in which a defendant is informed of the charges against them, advised of their rights (right to counsel, right to remain silent, presumption of innocence), and asked to enter a plea (guilty, not guilty, or no contest). Parameters: (1) the defendant must be physically present before a judge (or via video where permitted), (2) formal reading of the charging document, (3) right-to-counsel advisement, (4) plea entry, (5) bail/bond determination may occur. Persistence mechanism: mandated by statutory law and constitutional due-process requirements; institutionalized through court rules and judicial practice in every jurisdiction that follows adversarial criminal procedure. [formal: arraignment | substrate: behavior | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.43]