An arrest happens first: it is when police take someone into custody on suspicion of a crime. An arraignment comes later: it is the court hearing where the defendant is formally told the charges and enters a plea. Picture the order as arrest, then arraignment.
The core difference
An arrest is being taken into custody; an arraignment is the court hearing afterwards where charges are read and a plea is entered.
- arrest — to take someone into custody under legal authority, typically on suspicion of a crime: Police arrested the suspect outside his apartment.
- arraignment — a court hearing where a defendant is formally told the charges against them and enters a plea: She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment.
How to tell them apart
A simple memory hook is sequence: arrest is what a police officer does on the street or at a scene, and arraignment is what a judge does later in a courtroom. If it involves handcuffs and custody, it is an arrest; if it involves a judge reading out charges and asking for a plea, it is an arraignment.
People sometimes confuse the two because both mark the formal start of a case in the public's mind. But only the arraignment produces a plea, such as guilty or not guilty, and only the arrest involves physically taking someone into custody.
