Outstanding Warrants

Do you fear you may have an open warrant for your arrest out there somewhere? If so, we encourage you to get to the bottom of it immediately! Bench warrants, or judge-mandated warrants, are authorized when a defendant misses a court date or “fails to appear” after they’ve been arrested or charged with a crime. At that point, the notice of a warrant will be entered into the LEIN system that police officers access to run checks on those they may stop when patrolling the roads or other areas. In other words, once a warrant is authorized in your name, you are subject to arrest at anytime without notice. So what should you do to handle this threat on your liberty?

Contacting an experienced criminal defense attorney can ease your burden. Once retained, your attorney can call any court where you fear or know you have an outstanding warrant, and confirm the warrant status. From there, the attorney will inquire as to “walk-in” days and times, or in other words, when the court accepts defendants under warrant status to walk in and be arraigned on the outstanding warrant. If it’s a charge that has not yet been adjudicated, or ruled on, then sometimes your attorney will be able to negotiate an acceptable plea with the prosecutor that very same day! Or sometimes the court may schedule the matter for a subsequent pre-trial, or sentencing, depending on the status of the individual case.

No matter the charge and no matter at what point in the proceedings the warrant may have been issued, one thing is certain: it’s always better for you case, and much better for your chances at being released on a low or no bond, to turn yourself in as opposed to getting picked up by an officer and taken into custody. Walking into court on your own accord and facing the music with an experienced criminal defense attorney by your side looks so much better to a judge than speaking to him in handcuffs and can only improve your chances at a favorable outcome. Just this week, criminal attorneys at the Law Offices of Joumana Kayrouz got a total of four warrants set aside for one client in district courts in two different counties. Today that client is home with his family instead of sitting on the inside of a jail cell.

Nothing is more important than preserving your rights and your liberty! If you feel you may have an unresolved warrant somewhere, or have questions about any other aspect of criminal law, call the Law Offices of Joumana Kayrouz and ask to speak to our criminal defense attorney today!