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VIDEO ARRAIGNMENTS
Beginning January 6, 2003, anyone in the
custody of the county jail will be arraigned by an interactive video system. These
arraignments will be conducted by the Magistrate, from his hearing room, with the
defendant being in a studio at the county jail. Visitors and observers are always
welcome to view these arraignments at the court building. If you desire to observe
any of these proceedings, please check in with the criminal clerk's desk.
ARRAIGNMENT SCHEDULE:
EXISTING WARRANTS: If the person is arrested on an existing warrant, the arraignment is scheduled to take place at 8:30am. Arrests without a warrant where an appearance citation is issued may also take place during this time.
FRESH ARRESTS: When a person is arrested without a warrant and the prosecutor's office must review the arrest prior to arraignment, in that event, the arraignment will usually be held sometime during a block of time between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. Arrests without a warrant where an appearance citation is issued and the person did not participate in the 8:30am arraignment session, may also be held during this time. Due to other scheduling considerations, video arraignments may be held at other times, in the court's sole discretion. The exact time for the afternoon session will depend upon a number of factors and change from day to day. If you have questions about a particular case and when the video arraignment will take place, please call the criminal clerk's desk at (517) 676-8405.
The video arraignment concept has been authorized through 55th District Court Administrative Order 2002-01, approved by the State Court Administrator's Office on January 25, 2002.
Felony arraignments will be preserved by audio recording only. No video record of any hearing can be made.
ATTORNEYS
The Ingham County Jail will not allow attorney's into the section of the jail where the arraignment studio's are located. The attorney may be present for the arraignment, in the magistrate hearing room. There is a second camera installed, so that the defendant may view his/her attorney and talk with them. There is a private telephone installed for attorney use, so the attorney may briefly discuss matters with his/her client, off the record.