ExecutiveChronicles | The Grievous Consequences of Not Clearing a Bench Warrant | A bench warrant is a directive given to law enforcement officers by a judge or magistrate that allows them to detain you and take you to court. Usually, when someone fails to appear in court to respond to the criminal charges, a bench warrant is issued for their arrest. A summon is a judge’s order for an offender to show up in court on a particular day and at a specific time. You must follow the directions in a summons; otherwise, a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest. If you don’t show up for court, a bench warrant will be issued even if the summons was sent to your previous address and you didn’t get it. There are many reasons courts issue bench warrants. For instance, a bench warrant is issued when the offender does not comply with the court’s order, such as not paying child support or violating a restraining order. To know more about clearing bench warrants, you should consult an expert attorney. There are grievous consequences for not clearing a bench warrant.
You Could Get Arrested If Pulled Over
Any law enforcement officer may arrest you and bring you before a judge at any moment if you have an outstanding bench warrant. Your name will be added to a database that all law enforcement officers may view, even though they normally won’t go looking for you in response to a bench warrant. This implies that you could be arrested at any interaction or encounter with a law enforcement officer. For instance, if you are pulled over for a moving violation, such as speeding or running a red light, the traffic police officer can check the database and discover that you have an outstanding bench warrant. The officer has the authority and power to arrest you right away.
You Could Get Arrested If You Have an Accident
On the other hand, if you are involved in a car accident and have called the police, you can also get arrested. In every scenario in which you can have an encounter with law enforcement officers, you are at risk of getting arrested.
After you get arrested, you will be brought to court and will have to pay bail to be released. For minor crimes, you would have to pay a small fine. However, the bail would be set at an extremely high price for serious crimes. If the court is not in session at the time of your arrest, you might have to stay in jail until you are brought before a judge. There are countless scenarios in which you can interact with a police officer. However, you will always be at risk of getting arrested due to an outstanding bench warrant.
Therefore, it is critical to resolve a bench warrant. You should not leave it outstanding. You should clear it as soon as you become aware that one has been issued against you. You should consult an experienced lawyer to handle this issue and review the paperwork.
