§ 15A-941. Arraignment before judge only upon written request; use of two-way audio and video transmission; entry of not guilty plea if not arraigned.
Article51.
Arraignment.
§ 15A‑941. Arraignmentbefore judge only upon written request; use of two‑way audio and videotransmission; entry of not guilty plea if not arraigned.
(a) Arraignmentconsists of bringing a defendant in open court or as provided in subsection (b)of this section before a judge having jurisdiction to try the offense, advisinghim of the charges pending against him, and directing him to plead. Theprosecutor must read the charges or fairly summarize them to the defendant. Ifthe defendant fails to plead, the court must record that fact, and thedefendant must be tried as if he had pleaded not guilty.
(b) An arraignment in anoncapital case may be conducted by an audio and video transmission between thejudge and the defendant in which the parties can see and hear each other. Ifthe defendant has counsel, the defendant shall be allowed to communicate fullyand confidentially with his attorney during the proceeding.
(c) Prior to the use ofaudio and video transmission pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, theprocedures and type of equipment for audio and video transmission shall besubmitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts by the senior regularresident superior court judge for the judicial district or set of districts andapproved by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(d) A defendant will bearraigned in accordance with this section only if the defendant files a writtenrequest with the clerk of superior court for an arraignment not later than 21days after service of the bill of indictment. If a bill of indictment is notrequired to be served pursuant to G.S. 15A‑630, then the written requestfor arraignment must be filed not later than 21 days from the date of thereturn of the indictment as a true bill. Upon the return of the indictment as atrue bill, the court must immediately cause notice of the 21‑day timelimit within which the defendant may request an arraignment to be mailed orotherwise given to the defendant and to the defendant's counsel of record, ifany. If the defendant does not file a written request for arraignment, then thecourt shall enter a not guilty plea on behalf of the defendant.
(e) Nothing in thissection shall prevent the district attorney from calendaring cases foradministrative purposes. (1973, c. 1286, s. 1; 1975, c. 166, s. 27; 1993, c.30, s. 3; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 725, s. 7.)