What Actually Happens at Arraignment in Bibb County

By Ben Sessions on August 31st, 2026 in Criminal Defense

Most people walk into their first court date expecting something like a trial. Arraignment is not that. It is a brief procedural hearing, often over in a few minutes, and its main function is to formally notify you of the charges and take your plea.

That brevity is misleading. Several decisions made at or around arraignment shape everything that follows.

What the hearing actually does

The court confirms your identity, states the charges filed against you, confirms that you are represented or advises you of your right to counsel, and takes your plea of guilty or not guilty. In Bibb County, felony arraignments are held in Superior Court and misdemeanors in State Court.

A not guilty plea is not a claim of innocence in any dramatic sense. It preserves your rights and keeps every option open, including a negotiated resolution later. Pleading not guilty at arraignment costs you nothing.

The deadlines that start running

This is the part that matters. Under Georgia law, certain motions must be filed within ten days of arraignment unless the court extends the time. Demands for discovery, motions to suppress evidence, and challenges to the indictment or accusation fall into this category.

Waiving arraignment — which is common when you have counsel — does not eliminate these deadlines. It changes when they start. An attorney who is not tracking them can lose a suppression issue before anyone has looked at the facts.

Why the plea offer at arraignment is rarely the best one

Prosecutors sometimes extend an offer at or before arraignment. At that point, neither side has reviewed discovery. Nobody has watched the video, read the lab report, or interviewed the officer.

An offer made in that posture reflects the file as charged, not the case as it will actually develop. Accepting it forecloses the possibility that the evidence does not support the charge.

If you hold a professional license

Physicians, nurses, CDL holders, teachers, and others licensed by a state board face a second proceeding that runs on its own track. The disposition that looks best in criminal court is sometimes the one that triggers board action. First offender treatment does not shield you from a licensing board, and many reporting obligations begin at arrest rather than conviction.

Tell your lawyer about your license before the first court date, not after a plea has been entered.

Before your arraignment

Confirm the date and courtroom, arrive early, dress as you would for a job interview, and bring your paperwork. If you have not retained counsel, do it before the hearing rather than after.

Sessions & Fleischman practices in the Macon Judicial Circuit and throughout Georgia. Ben Sessions has tried more than 60 cases to a jury.