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 people have been charged with a criminal case, one of the biggest worries is appearing in court on the scheduled date. If you fail to appear on your scheduled date, it can result in a bench warrant which will lead to your arrest. Fortunately, if you have hired a California Criminal Defense Attorney to represent you, in most cases you will not have to be bothered with appearing in court.

Once a Criminal Defense attorney is hired, they will be able to appear on your behalf in front of the judge under certain circumstances. When an attorney appears on your behalf, it is called appearing 977 (after the appropriate California Penal code section). An attorney is authorized to appear on your behalf in any misdemeanor case, unless explicitly ordered otherwise by the Judge. For felony cases, however, the person accused must appear before the Judge unless granted permission to have an attorney appear on their behalf.

Hiring an attorney not only ensures that you are getting experienced and knowledgeable defense, but its alleviates the hassle and stress of having to appear in court. With work and social obligations it is hard to clear out a whole weekday morning to sit and wait until you are called before the Judge, a process that can take two to three hours.

An attorney is familiar with the courtroom process, the Judges and the prosecution and has priority in making appearance before those that are unrepresented. You not only have less anxiety knowing that your case is trusted in the hands of an experienced professional, but the whole process will not have you waiting hours on end for an outcome. Make the smart decision and make the process as easy as possible, seek the help of an attorney.

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.