Arraignment

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Arraignment \Ar*raign"ment\, n. [Cf. OF. arraynement,
     aresnement.]
     1. (Law) The act of arraigning, or the state of being
        arraigned; the act of calling and setting a prisoner
        before a court to answer to an indictment or complaint.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. A calling to an account to faults; accusation.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In the sixth satire, which seems only an Arraignment
              of the whole sex, there is a latent admonition.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster] Arraiment

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  arraignment
       n : a legal document calling someone to court to answer an
           indictment

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  49 Moby Thesaurus words for "arraignment":
     accusal, accusation, accusing, allegation, allegement, anathema,
     bail, bill of particulars, blame, bringing of charges,
     bringing to book, castigation, censure, charge, complaint,
     condemnation, count, damnation, decrial, delation, denouncement,
     denunciation, excoriation, flaying, fulmination, fustigation,
     impeachment, implication, imputation, indictment, information,
     innuendo, insinuation, lawsuit, laying of charges, pillorying,
     plaint, presentment, prosecution, reprehension, reproach,
     reprobation, skinning alive, stricture, suit, taxing, true bill,
     unspoken accusation, veiled accusation
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  ARRAIGNMENT, crim. law practice. Signifies the calling of the defendant to
  the bar of the court, to answer the accusation contained in the indictment.
  It consists of three parts.
       2.-1. Calling the defendant to the bar by his name, and commanding
  him to hold up his hand; this is done for the purpose of completely
  identifying the prisoner, as the person named in the indictment; the
  holding up his hand is not, however, indispensable, for if the prisoner
  should refuse to do so, he may be identified by any admission that he is the
  person intended. 1 Bl. Rep. 3.
       3.-2. The reading of the indictment to enable him fully to
  understand, the charge to be produced against him; The mode in which it is
  read is, after' saying, "A B, hold up your hand," to proceed, "you stand
  indicted by the name of A B, late of, &c., for that you on, &c." and then go
  through the whole of the indictment.
       4.-3. After this is concluded, the clerk proceeds to the third part,
  by adding, "How say you, A B, are you guilty or not guilty?" Upon this, if
  the prisoner, confesses the charge, the confession is recorded, and nothing
  further is done till judgment if, on the contrary, he answers "not guilty",
  that plea is entered for him, and the clerk or attorney general, replies
  that he is guilty; when an issue is formed. Vide generally, Dalt. J. h.t.;
  Burn's J. h.t.; Williams; J. h.t.; 4 Bl. Com. 322;  Harg. St. Tr. 4 vol.
  777, 661; 2 Hale, 219; Cro. C. C. 7; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 414.