and the entering of their plea. Their plea having been entered, they are said to stand arraigned. United Kingdom In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, arraignment is the first of 11 stages in a criminal trial, and involves the clerk of the court reading out the indictment. In England and Wales, the police cannot legally detain anyone for more than 24 hours without charging them unless an officer with the rank of superintendent (or above) authorises detention for a further 12 hours (36 hours total), or a judge (who will be a magistrate) authorises detention by the police before charge for up to a maximum of 96 hours, but for terrorism-related offences people can be held by the police for up to 28 days before charge. If they are not released after being charged, they should be brought before a court as soon as practicable. United States Under the United States Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, "arraignment shall [...] [consist of an] open [...] reading [of] the indictment [...] to the defendant [...] and call[] on [the defendant] to plead thereto. [T]he defendant shall be given a copy of the indictment [...] before being called upon to plead." In federal courts, arraignment takes place in two stages. The first is called the "initial arraignment" and must take place within 48 hours of an individual's arrest, 72 hours if the individual was arrested on the weekend and not able to go before a judge until Monday. During this stage, the defendant is informed of the pending legal charges and is informed of his or her right to retain counsel. The presiding judge also decides at what amount, if any, to set bail. During the second stage, a post-indictment arraignment (PIA), the defendant is allowed to enter a plea. In New York, a person arrested without a warrant and kept in custody must be brought before to a local criminal court for arraignment "without unnecessary delay." A delay of more than 24 hours is rebuttably presumed to be unnecessary. In California, arraignments must be conducted without unnecessary delay and, in any event, within 48 hours of arrest, excluding weekends and holidays. Form of the arraignment The wording of the arraignment varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. However, it generally conforms with the following principles: The accused person (defendant) is addressed by name; The charge against the accused person is read, including the alleged