Los Angeles Criminal Lawyers Blog

When a person is asked by the Court to appear on a certain date, it is extremely important that they adhere to the request. If it is absolutely implausible for them to be able to make the scheduled hearing, they must take steps to inform the court or to change the date.

When the scheduled appearance is missed, a Bench Warrant is issued on the person who failed to appear. A Bench Warrant is an order made by the Judge that allows law enforcement to pick up the person and bring them before the Judge to explain their failure to appear. This allows police to bring you into court if you are pulled over for any routine stop, and give them the right to come to your house and take you to court.

A failure to appear can become a serious issue, if not taken care of right away. It not only gives off a negative impression of a person, but also causes unnecessary hassle in your life.

A Bench Warrant may be cleared by appearing before the Judge and explaining the reasons as to why the person charged was unable to make it to court for the scheduled appearance. If the Judge is satisfied with the explanation, he or she may recall the warrant. This means that there is no longer an order allowing officers to take you into court.

An Experienced Los Angeles Criminal Defense attorney can appear on behalf of a person to recall a Bench Warrant. With a powerful argument, paired with some strong evidence, a Judge, in many cases, recalls a warrant without hassle. By presenting a person in a positive light and a productive member of society, the Judge sees the person as more than just another case. That is the goal for each and every one of our clients at Hoffman and Associates.

When a person is charged with a Los Angeles Criminal case they are required by state law to be placed on Probation depending on the offense. There are over 100s of different offenses in the California Penal code and each will yield difference consequences. Potential sentences may include jail time, a fine to be paid, education classes to be completed, and/or restitution.

The sentence will include one of two types of probation, informal and formal. Informal probation is generally the case for misdemeanor charges. Petty theft will generally be given informal probation which is unsupervised. Formal probation on the other hand requires that a person check in with a deputy probation officer and is strictly enforced. Charges like felony hit and run, or theft will require formal probation after a jail sentence has been served.

There are two type of probation violations: external and internal. An internal probation violation results when a person fails to complete required education classes, pay a fine, fail a required drug test or fail to report to a probation officer ( in cases of formal probation). An external violation results when a similar crime is committed within the probationary period.

When probation has been violated a warrant is put out for the person's arrest. Sometimes the court will send out a notice, but oftentimes there is no notice, just an arrest. The judge is not required to reinstate the probation and has the discretion to add additional sanctions for the violation, including jail time. The importance of the probation term which the person failed to complete will have a direct correlation to the consequence of the particular probation violation. For example, someone who failed to pay a fine is in a better situation than someone who didn't report for jail time. Similarily, someone who fails to complete an ordered Anger Management class will have a very serious violation on their hands.

An experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney has appeared on hundreds of probation violations cases and knows exactly how to prepare a powerful argument playing up the positive aspects of the terms you did comply with. At Hoffman and Associates, we appear on your behalf in front of the judge, decreasing the possibility of being arrested in court and showing the judge a familiar face that carries with it a solid reputation established through 30 years or practice.. One of our most recent clients with a probation violation got the probation reinstated without additional sanctions or any jail time. Contact our office for a consultation without cost of obligation and learn what we can do for you!

A failure to appear can result from a variety of different circumstances, including not appearing in court after receiving a ticket or moving violations by the date or deadline listed on the violation citation. Signing the bottom of a ticket for a moving violation is acknowledging that you promise to appear by the court date set on the ticket. Another common reason for clients receiving failures to appear is by not paying your fine or completing your community service by the date set by the court.

A bench warrant is similar to a failure to appear, except they are ordered by a Judge in a misdemeanor or felony case. Once a bench warrant has been ordered, a bail amount is set by the judge. Essentially a bail or bond amount is the amount of money that must be posted by the person in custody to obtain their release. There are two ways to a obtain a person's release who is in custody. The most common way is to retain the services of a qualified bail bondsman who can obtain one's release for a fee of 8 to 10% of the bond amount. Frequently a bondsman requires some security like owning a house or other property in the jurisdiction where the person is in custody. Another less frequently used method is for the bond amount to be posted by paying the face value with a cashier's check or money order. There is no loss of any of this money and no fee is charged by the court as long as the defendant makes all scheduled court appearances and is in full compliance with court orders.

Common causes of bench warrants are failing to appear in any scheduled court date or failing to comply with a court order like attending and alcohol program, paying a fine, completing community service or showing progress on any term or condition of probation. Another common source of a bench warrant is having the defendant violate his probation by being arrested for a similar charge or other offense.

Hiring an attorney experienced in clearing a bench warrants or failure to appear is always a good investment. Frequently an attorney skilled in the matters can convince the court that there are mitigating or extenuating circumstances for the client not appearing on time or completing court ordered obligations. The obvious benifet is to eliminate or reduce negative consequences.

Although it is not uncommon for clients with outstanding bench warrants or failures to appear to be fearful of going to court, and possibly been put in jail, it is always advisable to correct any such circumstance as soon after one becomes aware of any violation of a court obligation that has been accidentally or purposely neglected.

Our firm has cleared thousands of failures to appear and bench warrants restoring our clients to good status and preventing their arrest, losing their license, or other unpleasant consequences.