Example of a Warrant from the Fullerton Courthouse. 

A warrant from North Justice Center (Fullerton California) tells the police to pick you up. In the civil world, they would call this a body attachment. Regardless of the reason for the warrant they must pick you up and bring you back to the Fullerton magistrate who issued the order even if it is a case of mistaken identity.

You are just sitting in the passenger seat of a car and the car gets rear-ended. The police will be contacted to write a report and the police will notify the bench warrant, if this happens then they will be required to bring you in. This is regardless of the reason for the bench warrant. It can be a misunderstanding such as the wrong person committing the crime to forget to show up to court and ending up with a 40508(a) traffic ticket warrant.  The following article will explain what a warrant is and how to deal with it. 

What Happens After the Bench Warrant is Cleared?

Another thing you should know is if you have a failure to appear and it was because of a traffic ticket, then you probably have a suspended license. If you have a suspended license and you get caught driving, you get a new case of 14601.1 that means another misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license and you don’t want this. You need to be proactive with your arrest warrants. Otherwise you end up with two misdemeanors.

A Bench Warrant Requires a Personal Appearance in Court unless you have Represenation by an Attonrey.  

Among orange county bench warrant lawyer, this is understood as a warrant of arrest signed by a magistrate (judge) which requires the personal appearance of a person in court.  Arrest warrants in California work the same way regardless of the magistrate (judge) who issued it or the jurisdiction and courthouse (Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Sacramento, or San Jose) however in many cases, you do not have to show up to court on your benchwarant.

Why has an arrest warrant been issued for me?

The Most Common reasons are Not Showing to Court, Probation Violations, or ignoring a Subpoena. 

Not Showing up to Court on your Arraignment date will Result on a Warrant. 

This is very common for not showing up in court. People get them more often. Most of the time people get them because they are too busy to deal with a ticket. Other times people need an  Lawyer because they are too  upset about the ticket so they decide they do not want to deal with it and it will go away (Like Bills). However, unlike bills tickets do not go away. It’s kind of like dating. Nobody likes to be stood up on a date. Courts are no different, except they can issue a warrant of arrest if you stand them up.  

If you were arrested and given a citation to appear in court and either forgot about it or ignored it then then a Judge will issue a warrant for you on your court date. This happens often in Orange County because many people are sent home on their first date of court becuse their case was not filed on time. Once thier case is filed, the court an or the district attorney will send a letter letting them know of their date. However, unlike a citation which is given to them personaly bya  police officer, the notice of a cour date is mailed to them. This results in things getting lost in the mail and no notice and eventually ends up in them not knowing about the case and failing to show up.  

When you don’t show up for your citation, the arrest warrant goes out and depending on the case, the judge, the court or the judge may put out a bail amount, 5,000 or $10,000 what you need to do is you need to not have any police contact whatsoever. An officer will just take you in. You need to get the warrant recall. Once you get the warrant recall, you can address the original case. It’s a two part case. You go in there, you address the warrant, and then you take care of the underlying case.

Orange County Bench Warrant is very common for not showing up in court. People get them more often. Most of the time people get them because they are too busy to deal with a ticket. Other times Orange County Bench Warrant are the result of people who are too upset about the ticket so they decide they do not want to deal with it and it will go away (Like Bills). However, unlike bills tickets do not go away. It’s kind of like dating. Nobody likes to be stood up on a date. Courts are no different, except they can issue a warrant for your arrest if you do not show up. The bottom line is that the courts do not like to be stood up and if you stood up the court, chances are you will need a Bench Warrant Attorney on your side to clean things up.

Can an arrest warrant be issued for me even though I did not commit a crime?

It can be a misunderstanding such as the wrong person committing the crime to forgetting to show up to court and ending up with a 40508(a) traffic ticket warrant. The following article will explain what a warrant is and how to deal with it.

Ignoring Subpoena will result in a Bench warrant. 

Some people are witnesses to a case and do not want to show up to court.  This is not a problem unless they were properly served with a subpoena. If they were properly served with a supoena then they are under the court’s jurisdiction and must show up to court.  Failure to show up to court on a subpoena will result in a bench warrant for the person’s arrest. 

Failure to be in Compliance with Probation Terms will Result in a Bench Warrant. 

Another reason for a warrant of arrest can be a failure to fulfill probation requirements.  These include paying restitution as a condition of probation or as a part of your prison sentence.  For people who have had domestic violence cases in the past, they get warrants because they did not show up for their progress report to update the courts on their domestic violence class. In addition, warrants can be isseud for more innocnet things such as failure to show up for a jury summons. 

New Charge of Failure to Appear is a Misdemeanor

When you miss a court date a new charge is added. There will be an  Bench Warrant for Failure to Appear. This new charge is the failure to appear and is a misdemeanor. There are different consequences as for dealing with your Warrant for Failure to Appear. Originally a failure to appear in Southern California is a misdemeanor in California. This means it is punishable by a fine of $1000.00 and punishable up to 6 months which makes it crucial that you take care of this properly. If you’re charged with a failure to appear and you plead guilty to it, it will result in a conviction that result in a criminal record. There are many ways to address a failure to appear so that way it does not result in a misdemeanor.

The Court could be  suspending Your License 

A failure to appear in court is accompanied by a suspension on a driver license. 

Depending on the county this can happen immediately or after a few months. It’s important to talk to an  warrant lawyer for Failure to Appear and the suspended license needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This can sometimes come with a new misdemeanor offense of failure to appear.  

Continuing to Drive will Expose a Person to a New Charge of Suspended License. 

People will often get a case where they get caught driving while in this period, they are exposing themselves to driving on a suspended license.  This is a big no in California. The results of this can be probation and a hefty fine. Depending on the facts the prosecuting agency or the magistrate may hit you with a misdemeanor which will show up on your criminal record and weigh you down with terms of probation.

Different Counties Deal with Failure to Appear in Their Own Ways. 

Failure to appear in Southern California differs from county. They also differ from courthouse to courthouse. Some judges deal with these by requiring bail and will not allow a trial until the bail is paid. Others are indifferent and will allow release on own recognizance. (This is a fancy way to say the court will order you release from custody based on your promise to come back) . Bail is basically a deposit with the court. Think of it as a payment of your ticket in advance. Once the case is resolved, the money is either used to pay the fine or is refunded. If a person is represented by counsel this significantly increases your chance for a dismissal or reduced fine mark off your criminal record. A Warrant for Failure to Appear must be dealt with as soon as possible.

I did not receive a notice in the mail is this a good defense?

A lot of times people will say they never got the notice in the mail. However, this does not make a difference as a person has already signed a promise to appear in court when they are ticketed. This happens at the point of the ticket. When you are issued a ticket you are making a promise that you will appear in court. When you fail to show up in court then you will expose yourself to A new charge of failure to appear in court. 

What’s the best way to resolve a bench warrant or arrest warrant. 

You have options at your disposal At this moment, there has been a criminal proceeding that has started against you in the court of law.

Hiring an Orange County Warrant Attorney for your Case. 

A Lawyer can appear instead of requiring their clients to make a personal presence. Assuming they are an experienced lawyer (criminal defense lawyer) who are familiar with the issues with a warrant of arrest. These issues potential issues include potential probation violation and probation requirements for the charge the warrant is issued for. 

Advantages of Hiring an Attorney

This is the easiest way to deal with your Warrant. However, there are pros and cons to this aproach. The pros is that you can take a step back and let your attorney deal with everything. In many cases you do not even have to show up to court and if your case was a traffic ticket or a misdemeanor then your presence is not required. For people who are out of state this is the only way to go. The alternative is to fly back into California multiple times for your case. 

Cons of Hiring an Attorney for Your Warrant

However, the cons is that you will have to pay for the services of an attorney.  As for attorney fees, it’s best to contact an attorney in the local area to inquire about their fees. The fees on a bench warrant will vary greatly depending on the underlying charges.  In general ,fees will be lower for traffic then for DUIs.  

Dealing with the Warrant Yourself 

This is difficult advice to give because a person can deal with the warrant. However there is always a reason behind the warrant.

Know the Reason (underlying Charge Behind teh Warrant)

The reason behind the Warrant is just as important to deal with as well. It’s important to know the reason behind the warrant and whether or not there is any bail issues for your case. This option is not recommended.

Get a Bondsman Ready and Know the Bail Amount

If you do it yourself then contact a Bondsman: If you are picked up for an Orange County  Warrant then you will probably not be eligible for O.R. Release (Own Recognizance Release) based on your own representation to the court that you will appear for your court date. A court will be more willing to give you O.R. on the first time when you have not missed a court date. When you have missed a court date and get picked up on a warrant then the court will want bail. Note amount of bail you are facing when you are looking at your charge, then you can look up a bail schedule to determine the seriousness of your case. 

What is bail and what does it have to do with my Warrant?

The reason for bail is to ensure your next appearance at court. If you miss your date in court then your bail will be forfeited. A Bail is money held by the court as collateral to ensure your appearance. You will need to deposit with the court the money or use a bail agent to get out of jail then you will need the services of a criminal defense attorney. Bail can reach up to 10,000 or $50,000 figuring out why is it you have an arrest warrant? 

What if there is a No bail warrant meaning?

If your orange county bench warrants involves a no bail then you need to consult with an arrest warrant lawyer as soon as possible.  It is an indication of a unwilingness of the court to let you go on your own recognizance and it you will need to interview defense lawyers for your case. 

Not do anything at all about your Warrant 

This is possible. You can ignore the warrant. If you do this then you will ignore the warrant at your own risk. There will come a day when you are out and you will have police contact you. When this day comes, the police will take you in for your case. If this day does come, it’s important to have an arrest warrant attorney or a bench warrant attorney or  someone who regularly deals with these issues on your side.