How Can I Find Out If There Is A Warrant Out For My Arrest?
There are several different ways that the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles County receives their cases. Typically, someone gets arrested, and if they don't bail out, they are in court within one to three days.
The police send the paperwork to the prosecutors, and the day they come to court, the prosecutors decide while they've got the person there. If the person bails out of jail, there are a 30 days time frame before the person will be ordered into court. The police know they have to get the paperwork to the prosecutor within the 30 days time frame to review it and make a decision.
Other circumstances where prosecutors are reviewing cases is if they can't find the person, and now the police want a warrant issued for their arrest. They can go to the prosecutors, have the prosecutors review the case, file the case, and then the police can put a warrant into the system for that person's arrest.
There are various time frames, depending on how the prosecutors get the case. Sometimes, they may be investigating a severe case, and it could take the police weeks or months to get the paperwork to the prosecutors. Then, once the prosecutors get it, it can take them a significant amount of time to review everything.
How to Deal With a Warrant for Your Arrest
If you think there's a case against you, contact an attorney. An attorney can check to see if there's a warrant out for you. It's probably not a good idea for you to find out yourself because if you're going to the police or the courthouse and there is a warrant out for your arrest, you run the risk of being arrested.
Once a warrant is issued, it goes into a database that police use to track whether people have warrants and check people's criminal records. Depending on how severe the particular case is, the police can then assign officers to find the person who has the warrant.
They have special units that go out to find individuals who have warrants. They'll go to their house or go to their work. Then, they'll arrest the person and bring them in on the warrant. If they're too busy or not a serious case, they may just put the ward in the system and then forget about it until the person is pulled over for a traffic stop and arrested.
Can your criminal defense attorney prevent charges from being filed? Under the right circumstances, your attorney may present to the prosecutor, who will decide whether to file the case evidence they do not have.
Sometimes, police do a one-sided investigation that does not look at things that might exonerate a potential criminal defendant. They are only gathering evidence to be used to prosecute the person. There might be another story that the prosecutors don't have that they can consider. If we can provide that to the prosecutors, they may choose not to file charges or file a lesser charge.
Difference Between A Felony Warrant And Misdemeanor Warrant
A felony warrant and a misdemeanor warrant can subject the person to being arrested based on the warrant. A felony warrant is a more serious warrant because it's a felony charge.
People could potentially face prison time on these charges most of the time. The police are more likely to go out and find someone who has a felony warrant because they perceive that person as more dangerous. With a misdemeanor warrant, a person would probably be perceived as less risky.
Also, once the person is arrested, the bail for a felony case will be higher than that of a misdemeanor case. Often, in misdemeanor cases, people are released on their own recognizance, which means they do not have to post any bail and are released on their promise and signature to appear in court.
