I was recently retained by a person arrested in Manhattan at approximately 3:00AM Saturday morning. As a New York
criminal defense attorney, I am used to delays in producing clients for an arraignment. But for the benefit of those of you not used to the delays, here is what to expect. New York County (Manhattan) experiences hundreds of arrests per day. On the day in question, there were over 415 arrests. Once arrested, a person is brought to the local police station. From there, if the person does not qualify for a desk appearance ticket, he will be brought to central booking, processed, and interviewed by a city agency for the purposes of making a bail or ROR recommendation. The police officer(s) making the arrest must speak with the Assistant District Attorneys in the complaint room to formulate the charges. The charges are then drafted and filed (docketed) with the Court Clerk. At that point, the case is ready to be called so long as the person is at the courthouse.
The point is that this is often a lengthy process and it is not uncommon for a person not be arraigned until the next day. In my case, my client was arraigned at 12:45AM Sunday morning (the court operates till 1:00AM). That's almost 24 hours from the time of the original arrest.
Be sure to seek the services of a qualified New York criminal defense attorney to lead you through the maze of arraignment in Manhattan.
