This law-related article does not cite its references or sources. You can help Wikipedia by including appropriate citations, which can be found through legal research. (July 2007)

Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdictions, but they generally include "guilty", "not guilty", and the peremptory pleas (or pleas in bar) setting out reasons why a trial cannot proceed. Pleas of "nolo contendere" (no contest) and the "Alford plea" are allowed in some circumstances.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, arraignment is the first of eleven stages in a criminal trial, and involves the clerk of the court reading out the indictment. The defendant is asked whether he or she pleads guilty or not guilty to each charge. This process is the same in Australian jurisdictions.

In federal courts in the United States, 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.^[1] During this arraignment 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 arraignment, a post-indictment arraignment or PIA, the defendant is allowed to enter a plea.

Form of the arraignment[link]

The wording of the arraignment varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.^[2] However, it generally conforms with the following principles:

1. The accused person (defendant) is addressed by name;
2. The charge against the accused person is read, including the alleged date, time, and place of offense; and,
3. The accused person is asked formally how he or she pleads.

Video arraignment[link]

Video arraignment is the act of conducting the arraignment process using some form of videoconferencing technology. Use of Video Arraignment system allows the courts to conduct the requisite arraignment process without the need to transport the person who has been formally accused (offender) to the courtroom by using an audio-visual link between the location where the offender is being held and the courtroom.

Use of the video arraignment process addresses the problems associated with having to transport offenders. The transportation of offenders requires time, puts additional demands on the public safety organizations to provide for the safety of the public, court personnel and for the security of the offender population. It also addresses the rising costs of transportation.

Guilty and not-guilty pleas[link]

If the defendant pleads guilty, an evidentiary hearing usually follows. The court is not required to accept a guilty plea. During the hearing, the judge assesses the offense, the mitigating factors, and the defendant's character, and passes sentence.

If the defendant pleads not guilty, a date is set for a preliminary hearing or a trial.

In the past, a defendant who refused to plead (or "stood mute") was subject to peine forte et dure (Law French for "strong and hard punishment"). Today in common-law jurisdictions, the court enters a plea of not guilty for a defendant who refuses to enter a plea.^[3] The rationale for this is the defendant's right to silence.

Pre-trial Release[link]

This is also often the stage at which arguments for or against pre-trial release and bail are made, depending on the alleged crime and jurisdiction.

United States Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure[link]

Under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, "arraignment shall [...] [consist of an] open [...] reading [of] the indictment [...] to the defendant [...] and call[] on him to plead thereto. He/she shall be given a copy of the indictment [...] before he/she is called upon to plead."

References[link]

1. ^ Criminal Procedure 8th edition, by Joel Samaha ISBN 978-0-495-91335-1
2. ^ In some jurisdictions the wording of the arraignment is set by statute or court practice direction.
3. ^ In Queensland, Australia, this matter is covered by statute. See s601 of the Queensland Criminal Code.

Aaron Hernandez

Hernandez playing for the Patriots in 2011
No. 81     New England Patriots
Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-11-06) November 6, 1989 (age 22)
Place of birth: Bristol, Connecticut
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school: Bristol Central High School
College: Florida
NFL Draft: 2010 / Round: 4 / Pick: 113
Debuted in 2010 for the New England Patriots
Career history
New England Patriots (2010–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
SEC Championship (2008) BCS National Championship (2009) John Mackey Award (2009) First-team All-American (2009) First-team All-SEC (2009) Pro Bowl (2011) AFC champion (2011)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Receptions 124 Receiving yards 1,473 TD receptions 12 Stats at NFL.com

Aaron Michael Hernandez (born November 6, 1989) is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, was a member of a BCS National Championship team, earned All-American honors, and was recognized as the outstanding college tight end in the nation. He was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and was selected for the Pro Bowl following his second NFL season.

Early years[link]

Hernandez, who is of Puerto Rican descent,^[1] was born in Bristol, Connecticut.^[2] He attended Bristol Central High School in Bristol, and played for the Bristol Central Rams high school football team as a wide receiver.^[3] As a senior, he was the Connecticut Gatorade Football Player of the Year after making 67 receptions for 1,807 yards and 24 touchdowns on offense, and 72 tackles, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four blocked kicks on defense.^[3] The 1,807 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns were a state record and his 31 touchdowns tied the state record. He also set the state record for receiving yards in a single game with 376, which was the seventh best total in national high school history, and set a national high school record for yards receiving per game with 180.7.

Hernandez was considered the top tight end recruit in 2007 by Scout.com.^[4]

College career[link]

Hernandez enrolled at the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2007 to 2009.^[5] As a true freshman in 2007, Hernandez appeared in 13 games for the Gators, starting three. He finished the season with nine receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2008, he started 11 of 13 games in place of the injured Cornelius Ingram, and finished the season with 34 receptions for 381 yards and five touchdowns. In the 2009 BCS National Championship Game against the Oklahoma Sooners, Hernandez led the Gators in receiving yards with 57 on five receptions, as the Gators defeated the Sooners 24–14 to win their second national championship in three seasons.^[6] As a junior in 2009, Hernandez won the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation's best tight end, after leading the Gators in receptions with 68 for 850 yards and five touchdowns. He was also a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection and was recognized as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, College Football News and the The Sporting News.^[5]

Hernandez finished his college career with 111 receptions for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns.

After his junior year, he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.^[7]

Professional career[link]

Pre-draft[link]

New England Patriots[link]

Hernandez was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round (113th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. The previous day, the Patriots drafted another tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Shortly after he was drafted, The Boston Globe reported Hernandez had admitted to marijuana use and had failed multiple drug tests while in college, causing his draft stock to drop.^[9] Later that day, the Patriots released a statement from Hernandez, who said he had failed only one drug test while in college and was candid about it to interested teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.^[10]

Hernandez signed a four-year contract on June 8, 2010.^[11] The contract included a signing bonus of $200,000—less than half the bonus received by Patriots fourth-round pick placekicker Stephen Gostkowski in 2006.^[12] To compensate for the small signing bonus, the deal also includes a series of roster and workout bonuses that add up to an additional $700,000, which means that "Hernandez can wind up getting the money a third-rounder would over four years, but he's gotta walk the straight and narrow to do so."^[13]

2010 season[link]

Hernandez started the 2010 season as the youngest player on any active roster in the NFL. In Week 2, against the New York Jets, he caught 6 passes for 101 yards, making him the youngest player since 1960 to have 100 yards receiving in a single game. In the Patriots' Week 3 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Hernandez led all Patriots receivers with 6 catches for 65 yards, and had one rush for 13 yards. In the Patriots' Week 9 loss against the Cleveland Browns, Hernandez caught his first career touchdown on a 1-yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady, and added another touchdown later in the game. In Week 15, Hernandez caught two touchdown passes from Brady in a win over the Green Bay Packers, earning Hernandez Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honors. He finished the 2010 season with 45 receptions for 563 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games played (7 starts).

2011 season[link]

Through Week 15, Hernandez played in 12 of the Patriots' 14 games, starting 10; for the second season in a row, Hernandez missed two regular-season games with a knee injury. He set career bests in receptions and yards in Week 15, against the Denver Broncos, with 9 catches for 129 yards and one touchdown.

Hernandez and teammate Rob Gronkowski are the first pair of tight ends in NFL history to score at least five touchdowns each in consecutive seasons for the same team; both rank in the top 20 among all receivers in number of catches.

Gronkowski-Hernandez tandem[link]

At the start of the 2011 season, Hernandez was one of only two tight-ends on the roster; the other was his fellow 2010 draftee Rob Gronkowski.

Although Hernandez's stats were eclipsed by Gronkowski's, Hernandez still ranked in the top 5 in receptions, yards, and touchdowns among tight ends; according to NBC Sports, Hernandez and Gronkowski are the first pair of tight ends in NFL history to catch 5 touchdown passes in consecutive seasons with the same team. In 2011 they also set NFL records for yardage, receptions, and touchdowns by tight ends on one team, combining for 169 receptions, 2,237 yards, and 24 touchdowns. The previous records for receptions and yards by tight ends on a single team was set in 1984 by the San Diego Chargers, who had four tight ends combine for 163 receptions and 1,927 yards;^[14] the 24 touchdowns eclipsed the record of 18 touchdowns caught by Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Alge Crumpler in 2010.

See also[link]

	American football portal
	Puerto Rico portal
	Biography portal
	College football portal

• 2008 Florida Gators football team
• 2009 College Football All-America Team
• Florida Gators
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of New England Patriots players
• List of Puerto Ricans

References[link]

External links[link]

• Aaron Hernandez on Twitter
• New England Patriots bio
• Florida Gators bio
• NFL combine profile
• ESPN bio

Tim Lambesis
Tim Lambesis performing as a part of As I Lay Dying at 2007's With Full Force festival.
Background information
Birth name	Timothy Lambesis
Born	(1980-11-21) November 21, 1980 (age 31)
Genres	Metalcore, thrash metal, melodic death metal, crossover thrash
Occupations	vocalist, songwriter, record producer, manager
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, trumpet
Years active	2001–present
Associated acts	As I Lay Dying, Point of Recognition, Austrian Death Machine, Society's Finest, The Devil Wears Prada, Bleeding Through, War of Ages, Winter Solstice
Website	www.asilaydying.com

Tim Lambesis (born November 21, 1980) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, lead vocalist of American metalcore band As I Lay Dying.^[1] He also has a solo/side project in tribute to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian Death Machine, in which he performs all the required instruments. He has also played guitar for Society's Finest and Point of Recognition.

Lambesis is notable for his screamed vocals which are influenced by such bands as In Flames, Living Sacrifice and At the Gates. He was also a judge for the 8th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Lambesis is part Greek. A Christian, his lyrics are personal, expanding from relationships, to life's struggles. Many of his lyrics are inspired by Ecclesiastes, which is his favorite book in the Bible. During an August 2010 radio interview, Lambesis boldly stated "I can only really write about what I'm passionate about in life, so naturally my faith, my belief in the teachings of Jesus and His resurrection come across in our lyrics.".^[3] Lambesis recently received a "rocking Jesus" tattoo by artist Hannah Aitchison on the television show LA Ink. Tim is the third of four brothers. He was born in Scottsdale, Arizona but moved to San Diego when he was at about the age of seven. All of his brothers live in Scottsdale. His parents own their own company in Carlsbad, CA. Lambesis once worked for his parents for a short while before starting As I Lay Dying. His height is 6'3". Lambesis is married and has two daughters and a son, all of whom he adopted from Ethiopia.^[4]

Production[link]

Lambesis has produced all of As I Lay Dying's albums, two Sworn Enemy albums, The Beginning of the End and Maniacal, as well as the War of Ages album, Arise and Conquer, Impending Doom's The Serpent Servant, Chelsea Grin's Desolation of Eden and his own solo project Austrian Death Machine. He as well recorded and produced Zao's Awake? album. He is the partial owner of Lambesis Studios.

He also managed the band Destroy The Runner for both of their studio albums.

Lambesis provided guest vocals on The Devil Wears Prada's song "Constance" from their fourth studio album, Dead Throne.

Discography[link]

Performance[link]

With As I Lay Dying

• Beneath the Encasing of Ashes (2001)
• Frail Words Collapse (2003)
• Shadows Are Security (2005)
• A Long March: The First Recordings (2006)
• An Ocean Between Us (2007)
• The Powerless Rise (2010)
• Decas (2011)

With Point of Recognition

• Day of Defeat (2002)

With Sworn Enemy

• The Beginning of the End - "After the Fall, 2006"

With Bleeding Through

• Declaration - "Declaration, 2008"

With Impending Doom

• There Will Be Violence - "Orphans, 2010"

Austrian Death Machine

• Total Brutal (2008)
• A Very Brutal Christmas EP (2008)
• Double Brutal (2009)
• Keep It Brutal (2011)

With The Devil Wears Prada

• Dead Throne - "Constance, 2011"

With Winter Solstice

• The Fall of Rome - "To The Nines, 2005"

Records produced[link]

• As I Lay Dying - Beneath the Encasing of Ashes
• Destruction of a Rose - Suspended in Time
• Sworn Enemy - The Beginning of the End
• Sworn Enemy - Maniacal
• Zao - Awake?
• Impending Doom - The Serpent Servant
• Impending Doom - There Will Be Violence
• Chelsea Grin - Desolation of Eden
• War of Ages - Arise and Conquer
• War of Ages - Eternal
• Molotov Solution - The Harbinger
• Carnifex - Until I Feel Nothing
• Blessthefall - TBA EP

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tim Lambesis' blog
• Official As I Lay Dying website
• Official Austrian Death Machine Website