What is a 40508a Warrant of Arrest?
A 40508a warrant results when a person fails to show up to court. This is also known as a failure to appear. A failure to appear is a misdemeanor and happens when a person signs a promise to appear in court and does not appear in court. Failure to appears results in a misdemeanor, which is also a new charge. If your case was in the Los Angeles or Orange County Court System, then your case will be assigned to GC Servcies that will put a hold on your license.
Penalties of 40508a Warrant
In addition, a 40508 Warrant is often accompanied by potential jail time because a person can be picked up on the arrest warrant and forced to wait in jail for the court appearance. This new violation carries possible jail time and substantial fines.
1 – The 40508a Warrant and A Failure to Appear can be harsher than the original Charge.
Sometimes, the new charge of failure to appear is harsher than the original charge in the first place, which can be an infraction. In addition to this, the new charge of failure to appear also accompanies what they call a 40508a warrant.
2 -The 40508a Warrant Orders the Officers to Take You In.
A 40508a bench warrant orders the police department and law enforcement agency to pick you up and arrest you whenever they see you. This doesn’t matter what the reason for contact is. You do not have to commit any new violation of the law or have any new offense that would warrant giving you a citation.
For example, you can be a passenger in another person’s car, but a 40508a warrant will make the officer arrest you and bring you into court if your car was rear-ended in an accident. This is the case even if your underlying case was a minor traffic ticket and did not involve jail. The ticket you missed has blown up to a full misdemeanor and active warrant. This simple traffic ticket now has the potential to affect your record.3 – Hiring a Bench Warrant Attorney for Your 40508a Warrant Outweighs the Cost
You will need an attorney to go into the court to quash the bench warrant on your behalf. If a police officer runs into you for any violations before going to court, then you will be arrested instead of given a citation. You will also need an attorney to reduce the 40508a warrant down to an infraction from a misdemeanor. The infraction will eliminate the possible jail time associated with the misdemeanor charge.
On top of recalling your active warrant, your Bench Warrant Attorney will also fight your 40508a case will fight the new additional charge of failure to appear and the underlying offense of the original traffic violation. (citation for speeding, running red lights, etc..) Your attorney will also fight your 14601.1a charge of driving on a suspended license violation as well. This additional charge is also a misdemeanor and carries with a potential jail time and substantial fines in the form of assessments.
4 – You Do Not Have to Pay for the 40508a Warrant and GC Services
It would help if you had an experienced warrant lawyer when dealing with GC Service. Gc Services is the court’s collection agency and will hold onto your license for the traffic violation so long as you have a 40508a Warrant or an outstanding warrant for your arrest.
They will not release your license for the willful failure to appear unless you pay their fines or get some payment plan system which can range into thousands of dollars. This is often more than the original court-ordered fine, additional assessments, and civil assessment fees for being late.
5 – The Money You Pay to Release Your Warrant is a Lot More than All What You Pay If You Fought Your Case.
On top of that, the thousands of dollars you pay to get rid of your misdemeanor warrant will also result in a guilty plea in your underlying case. This is so even if your traffic citation started only as a correctable offense. It’s a better investment to hire a 40508a Bench Warrant attorney to fight your new charges the the New Misdemeanor Charges.
Get a legal consultation with a Bench Warrant Attorney Near You.
Defending yourself against a 40508a Warrant is not wise. You run the risk of getting taken into the county jail by a law enforcement agency on your bench warrant, and you also run the risk of picking up a new license violation of driving on a suspended license. The defense against a 40508a Warrant is more than saying you did not get the courtesy notice in the mail.
This will save you from the trouble of answering for it on your job applications. Finally, you will need an attorney to represent you on getting your license back if you missed the court on a traffic ticket. In California, if you miss court and get a 40508a warrant, then you will need to take the necessary steps to get your license back from the court. This will involve a trip to court by itself.
