The present participle of arraign; the act of formally charging someone in court or calling them to account for an alleged crime.
From the verb 'arraign', which comes from Old French 'arainier'. The '-ing' suffix forms the present participle and gerund forms.
The arraigning hearing is often the first time an accused person hears the formal charges against them read aloud in court, which is why it's technically separate from trial—it's where the system says 'here's what you're accused of' rather than 'here's why you're guilty.'
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