The two most common types of warrants in the California criminal justice system are arrest warrants and bench warrants. An arrest warrant is issued based on suspected criminal activity; after submission of documents by law enforcement officials to a judge, that judge must find probable cause that a crime has been committed or is imminent.  A bench warrant is issued by a judge from the bench most typically upon a finding that a previous court directive was not complied with.

Reasons a Bench Warrant may be Issued

Among the more common reasons an experienced Fullerton criminal attorney reports for the issuance of bench warrants are:

• Failures to appear: the underlying matter need not be serious and is often as simple as a traffic ticket. Nonetheless, if you have a scheduled court date and don’t show up, the judge can issue a warrant for your arrest.
• Failure to pay: similarly, you may have agreed to a payment schedule as terms of a guilty plea, and if you miss an agreed upon date there may be consequences.
• Failure to comply with any other term of release: in addition to payment of fines and fees, you may have agreed to other terms, such as completion of alcohol school, anger management classes or community service.
• Failure to comply with a protective order: in domestic violence cases, for example, courts commonly issue orders for the accused to stay away from the alleged victim. If there is evidence you violated this order, the judge may issue a warrant.

Consequences of a Bench Warrant

A bench warrant allows any police officer to arrest you, take you into custody and have you brought back before the judge who issued the warrant. Many times people are arrested based on a routine police stop while driving, but it may occur through any police contact.  Importantly, a bench warrant does not expire; it only goes away when you or your Fullerton criminal attorney go into court and have the warrant recalled and quashed.

Appearing on Your Own

If you have just become aware of a warrant or simply want to address the problem and your case was out of the North justice Center, you can go to the court at 1275 North Berkeley Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92832-1258. However, you must be aware of the very real possibility of being taken into custody if you appear unrepresented. An attorney can explain far better to the judge the legal grounds why the warrant should be recalled, and depending on you circumstances, you may not even need to be present.