Defendant Failing to Appear in Court
There are many reasons that a Van Nuys judge can issue a bench warrant for somebody's arrest. Maybe it's a new case. The prosecutors bring it to them, and the judge issues a bench warrant – because the police can't find the person. So the judge will have to give a bench warrant, then the case will be brought into Van Nuys Division 100. Another reason is if the person simply doesn't show up to court, either at the first arraignment or they don't show up to court while the case is pending.
Sometimes people forget. Sometimes people realize they're going to get a stiff sentence, so they flee the jurisdiction, and then the judge has to issue a bench warrant for their case. So, there's a variety of reasons that a judge can issue a bench warrant, and if you have a bench warrant issued for your arrest, you need to clear it up.
Just sitting there with your head in the sand and doing nothing is certainly not going to help you, and you're going to be in a much worse position in the Van Nuys court if they have to catch you and bring you in front of the judge.
Then your defense attorney is going to be arguing to let you out – the judge is going to say, no, I'm not going to let this guy out. I had to issue a bench warrant for his arrest, and I would never have got my hands on him except for the fact that the police caught him.
Retain a Criminal Defense Lawyer
So, suppose you turn yourself in and come in with an attorney. In that case, you already stand in solid shoes, and you have a good chance of trying to resolve your matter without that much damage being done because the judge will appreciate that you came in. You dealt with your case instead of doing nothing.
They see you had to spend money to hire an attorney, and you came in to face the music, which is not easy for people to do. But when it comes to a bench warrant case in Van Nuys or any court in LA County, it's the best move to get yourself in there and deal with the issue. As far as what to do about the bench warrant and what's going to happen with the bench warrant, all a bench warrant does is put the case on freeze. You have a lawsuit pending against you.
It doesn't change much that you had a bench warrant issued against you other than the fact they might be a little harsher on you because you're not doing what you're supposed to about the system. It might make getting a probationary sentence a little more difficult because you don't cooperate. Beyond that, the case pretty much stays frozen in time until they catch you or you turn yourself in.
Then, whatever your charge is, that's going to be your maximum. So, if you're charged with a robbery, for example, your max will be six years. If you're accused of grand theft, your max will be three years.
So, the max doesn't change in the case, and if you have an excellent criminal defense attorney for one of these bench warrants, you turn yourself in. There's a good explanation for why your bench warranted, then you're pretty much back in the same situation you were before the bench warrant, but you still have to deal with the case.
Many people mistakenly think since I've been gone so long, maybe it's better for me? No, that's wrong. That's not better for you. The bottom line is you still have to deal with the case, and it could be worse for you because they don't like it when people don't deal with their problems and run away from them.
Reviewing Your Bench Warrant To Develop Best Strategy
So, get in front of a criminal defense attorney. I have you come in. We talk about the case. We see where you were before the bench warrant. You know what, maybe you're in a better position now. Perhaps it's been an amount of time, and you haven't gotten any new arrests. We can use that to help you. Maybe you didn't have a job or have many prospects since you got your criminal case – now you have a job. Perhaps you didn't have a family – now you have a family.
So, if we can show all the goods that have happened to you since you got your bench warrant, we can try to use that to help you get a good resolution, to show the judge that you're going to cooperate with the system. You're not going to be back in their court.
These are the key things. Believe it or not, prosecutors and judges don't want you in the court system. They've got plenty of business, plenty of cases to deal with. So, if they think you're going to take care of business and you're not going to be a problem to them, then maybe they will give you a break, and that's up to your criminal defense attorney. I have you come in. We sit down and see where you're at now.
We get a whole packet of mitigating circumstances together. So, not only do we take care of the bench warrant, but in one fell swoop, we also take care of your criminal case and get you the best resolution. We protect your rights, your record, and your freedom. So, the judges are very reasonable when it comes to these bench warrant cases. They will listen to reason, and if we can show them that you've got on the right path and you're going to do the right thing, then we'll be in the best possible position to resolve your bench warrant case.
