A bench warrant is an arrest warrant ordered by a judge against the defendant in a criminal case. Bench warrants are given when the accused fails to appear for trial or a court appearance. The reason it is called a bench warrant is that the judge gives the warrant and the bench is the traditional term for a judge’s seat. This means the warrant is ordering you to appear in front of the judge.

What happens if you do not appear in court?

As a lawyer, like a criminal defense lawyer from a law firm like The Lynch Law Group understands, if the defendant does not appear for a criminal case, the judge will issue an arrest warrant. The severity of the crime determines the judge’s punishment, much like sentencing. Arrest warrants give a defendant more motivation to turn themselves in and appear in court. They will also have law enforcement attempting to track down the accused and put them in jail. This is for arrest warrants, however. Bench warrants do not usually require that the police come knocking at your door to arrest you. Instead, the defendant’s name goes into a statewide system that all law enforcement has access to. If you have to deal with the police under any condition, for example, in case you are involved in a motor vehicle accident or stopped for running a red light, you will be taken into custody for the outstanding bench warrant. 

You will be taken into custody where you are able to post bail before you can be released. After you pay bail, you will get another court date and, of course, you should appear so this does not happen again. 

On the off chance that you know or find a bench warrant is out for your arrest, you can call the court you are being requested to be seen at or the police department and arrange to come in and pay the bail. At the point when you pay the bail, the warrant will be recalled without an arrest. Be sure to verify what type of payment is accepted.

In case you have what you consider an emergency and this is why you missed court, they understand that emergencies come up, and things happen. If you have a great reason for why you did not appear in court, you might actually persuade the judge into allowing you to get the bail back or having it credited against your fines and costs by sharing this information.

If you need help with a bench warrant, look to hire a skilled, local criminal defense attorney to assist with dealing with a bench warrant.