Before a judge issues a warrant for an individual’s arrest, the state must show probable cause—meaning that police reasonably believe the arrestee has engaged in criminal activity. When police make an arrest pursuant to a warrant, the prosecution does not need to make another showing of probable cause through an initial appearance. When police make an arrest without a warrant, however, the court must promptly provide a probable cause review. The prosecution must provide the defendant with an initial appearance within 24 to 48 hours of the defendant’s arrest unless the prosecutor can show a bona fide emergency or extraordinary circumstances. The initial appearance is part of the defendant’s procedural rights.

When the court delays the defendant’s initial appearance, a New Hampshire criminal attorney may be able to help with protection of the defendant’s rights through various legal actions. The defense lawyer may consider filing a “writ of habeas corpus” to seek the defendant’s immediate release. Writing the writ and participating in the related court proceedings may take up time and judicial resources, however, so the defense lawyer may seek progress by speaking with the chain of command at the police department and the prosecutor’s office, or by contacting the judge’s law clerk, to encourage arraignment without requiring the writ. The defense lawyer may also try to move along your case by threatening to file a federal civil rights action against the police department and the prosecutor’s office.