Judge Sylvester said that while he empathized with the victims' desire to move forward, he decided it was appropriate to give the defense more time to prepare for the arraignment hearing, given the trove of evidence that needed to be reviewed.
While most Legal Aid lawyers were given the day off, Ms. Schneider said she had to report to court because it was her day to handle arraignments.
The judge, Deborah Stevens Modica of Queens Criminal Court, gave the order during an arraignment conducted via a closed-circuit video link between the courtroom in Kew Gardens and Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, where Mr. Hiraman has been confined since Wednesday.
Arraignment is set for Friday, giving the new chief counsel, Thomas Mesereau Jr., only a few days to prepare.
Judge Paer declined to give her a month and set the arraignment for Aug. 9.
At Mr. Hubrecht's arraignment yesterday, Robert Frazer, an assistant district attorney, gave a different version of events than the one given after the shooting on Monday, and said he was citing the landlord's videotaped statement.
But he agreed on Friday to postpone the arraignment until March 12, to give Mr. Holmes's lawyers more time to enter a plea.
While Ayat was meeting her family during the arraignment, a policeman overheard her giving details of her mistreatment.
Michelle Armstrong, Ms. Brewer's lawyer, gave no hint of her defense strategy during the arraignment, and her client's fitness to stand trial did not come up.
