When your arraignment happens
It depends on how you were released. If the police let you go from the station on a written promise to appear or after posting a bond, your arraignment date is printed on the paperwork they gave you, usually two to four weeks out. If you were held after the arrest, you are brought to court on the next business day.
Family violence arrests are different: Connecticut law requires arraignment on the next business day the court is open, whether or not you were released, so the judge can address a protective order right away. Arrested Friday night means Monday morning.
Where to go and what to bring
Go to the Geographical Area (GA) court for the town where you were arrested, not necessarily where you live. Each court page on this site lists the towns it serves. Arrive before the doors open; security and parking may both back up.
Bring the paperwork from your arrest, a photo ID, anything the court sent you, and your attorney's name if you have one. Leave anything weapon-like in your car and silence your phone.
When you arrive, you or your attorney check in with the State's Attorney's office, not the clerk's window, so the prosecutor knows you are present. Then you wait to be called; it can take most of the morning.
What the judge does
The judge formally tells you the charges and advises you of your rights, including the right to a lawyer and to remain silent. You are usually not asked to enter a plea at this first appearance.
If you are still in custody, the judge reviews the bond the police set and can raise it, lower it, or release you on a promise to appear, and reviews the arrest paperwork to confirm probable cause. Then the case is continued to a new date. Very few cases end at the arraignment.
The bond and bail page explains how the amount is set and how to post it.
If it is a family violence case
Before you see the judge, a Family Relations officer interviews you, a short risk assessment, and makes a recommendation about the protective order. Be brief and polite; you do not have to discuss the incident, and anything you say can be repeated in court. The officer reports to the court, not to either side.
The judge then issues a criminal protective order at one of three levels: partial, residential stay-away, or full no-contact. The order can keep you out of your own home and away from your children until the case ends. If you disagree with it, you or your attorney must ask for a hearing at this appearance; the domestic violence charge page explains that hearing.
The protective orders page covers the three levels in detail.
Do you need a lawyer at the arraignment
You are not required to have one, and many people are arraigned without one, especially on a next-day family violence docket. But the arraignment sets your release conditions and, in a family violence case, a protective order that controls your daily life for months, so talk to a defense attorney before you go if you can.
If you cannot afford one, apply for a public defender at the courthouse before your case is called.
The arrest page covers what happened before this date, and the what to expect page puts the arraignment in the shape of the whole case. What comes next also depends on the charge: DUI, assault, drug possession, and larceny and shoplifting.