At the arraignment, an attorney is to be provided for the defendant free of charge if necessary

It's the first point at which the state must advise you of the specific charges against you in a criminal matter. Before this you may have been arrested for something and even posted bail - but at the arraignment the final charges are made public and they may not even be the original things you were arrested for. For instance, you may have been arrested for writing a bad check, but the final charge against you may be fraud or even theft - this has been determined by the prosecuting attorney after your arrest by a peace officer. Whatever you were arrested for in the first place is "amended" to include the new filing and the original charges forgotten. At this point your bond if you posted one may also be amended and usually is to either be increased or to be continued as the bond for the new charges. This is also the place where either the defense or prosecuting attorney's can begin to file procedural motions. This is NOT the time where a witnesses will be heard, this is only the formal reading of the charges against you. Hope this helps you out!