How to get rid of a Bench Warrant
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
by Craig Cahoon
The Cahoon Law Office
A Bench Warrant is a written order by a Judge directing law enforcement to arrest someone and bring them before the Court. Bench Warrants usually arise when someone is charged with a crime and then fails to appear at Court when directed. If you had a Bench Warrant issued against you, it's not the end of the world but you will want to take care of the warrant as soon as possible. The process of getting rid of the warrant is called "Quashing the Warrant."
There are several ways to get rid of a bench warrant:
contacting the Court, having your attorney file a Motion to Quash, or sit back
and do nothing. No matter which decision
you make, you will eventually have to go before a Judge and ask them to remove
the warrant.
Contacting the Court
Every Court will have a procedure in place for dealing with
Bench Warrants. You can contact the Court,
either by phone or in person, and ask them what you will need to do. Most courts will allow you to call their
Clerk's Office and ask about the procedure in your case. Before the Clerk's Office will set a hearing
for you, you will need to come down and make a personal appearance. Depending on the circumstances, they may
require you to pay a fee or post a bond before they will set the hearing.
Remember that having a Court set a hearing to determine if a
Bench Warrant will get quashed is NOT the same thing as actually having it
quashed. The warrant will remain active
until a Judge signs another order quashing it.
Motion to Quash
The easiest way to get rid of a Bench Warrant is to have
your attorney do it for you. He or she
can contact the Court and ask for a hearing before a Judge. This is generally accomplished by filing a
Motion to Quash Bench Warrant. Although
some courts will require a personal appearance by the Defendant before allowing
any hearing to be set, most won't.
Sit back and do nothing
Believe it or not, this is the most common way of dealing
with a bench warrant. The downside of
this method, of course, is that you have no control over when you get picked
up. The only thing you can be sure of is
that it will happen at the most inconvenient time. For example, if you are stopped for a minor
driving offense and have kids in the car; who will take custody of the kids while
you are on your way to jail?
What happens if the
warrant is not quashed?
If the warrant is not quashed, then you will be taken into
custody and you will remain there until either the case is finished or a Judge
grants another Release Order.