How to Clear a Bench Warrant in California

11 Jun, 18

• in Legal Info

If you have a bench warrant in California, it means that you failed to either appear for, pay or present something important. Bench warrants & arrest warrants are slightly different in that bench warrants may not involve a crime. You may have missed a court date that required your presence. You may have failed to pay your child or spousal support. Perhaps you did not show your probation offer that you registered for a rehabilitation program as ordered. Those are the most common reasons for bench warrant issuance. For one of those reasons, the judge ordered a warrant for your arrest, and now you must appear before a judge to find out how he or she will handle it.

Contact a Bail Agent

Our legal advice is to find a professional bail agent who works for a bail bond company. Bail bond companies pay bail amounts so that people can stay out of jail until their court date. You may be able to get the bail agent to pay your bail, which may give you some additional time to figure out how to clear your warrants. Either you or someone who is close to you can contact the bail agent and go through the application process. You should be able to get help with a small down payment and a little collateral. However, the nature of the bench warrant will determine whether you can get that kind of help. One of the most common bail issues is that the defendant didn’t show up for court the first time. A judge might not allow bail for you if you missed court. The other element on the bail issues is that you have to have a down payment. Some people cannot offer down payments, and thus they can’t reap the benefits of a bail agent. You can Hire a bail agent as long as you meet the minimum requirements.

Find out Why You Have a Bench Warrant

If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to find out why you have a bench warrant. You’ll have a bench warrant for failure to appear if you missed a court date. The bench warrant for failure to appear is the one that may cause a little disturbance if you try to get bail bonds. The judge may not feel comfortable with allowing you to get out on bail bonds because he may think that you’ll fail to appear again. However, you may be able to get your bench warrant attorneys to explain why you never showed up.

A civil bench warrant is a little different from a regular bench warrant. A civil bench warrant may have been issued because of missed child support or spousal support payments. The judge may allow you to hire a bail agent if that’s the case.

That concludes the list of common reasons for bench warrant issuance. You will have to resolve this issue no matter what your reason is that there is no California bench warrant expiration. Bench warrants & arrest warrants are different in that aspect. The bench warrant stays on you until the end of the time if you don’t handle it. The reason that there is no California bench warrant expiration is that it’s not subject to a statute of limitations if it’s not tied to a crime.

Speak to Bench Warrant Attorneys

One of the most effective ways to handle a bench warrant it to do it with the help of an experienced attorney. An attorney can be there for you every step of the way. This person can help you find out why you have a bench warrant, and he can support you through the process of bargaining with the judge who issued the warrant. Don’t try to handle things on your own. Call an attorney and guarantee yourself the best outcome.

Meet the Obligation

After you find out what’s going on, and you speak to your attorney, you will need to meet your obligations. Pay the fine or support payment if it’s overdue. Show your documentation to your probation officer if you need to. You can take care of almost everything while you are out, but you still have to appear in court to discuss with the judge why you didn’t meet your obligations, to begin with originally. Make sure you appear because the consequences of failing to appear are massive. One of the consequences of failing to appear is bench warrant jail time. Bench warrant jail time can be days or months depending on how the judge feels about your failure to appear in court.

Appear in Court

The last thing to do is to appear in court and have your attorney plead your case. Everything will be fine if you remain humble, allow the attorney to speak for you, and be willing to take any additional steps that the judge requests. Contact us for your legal advice on clearing warrants.