If you recently discovered that there is a warrant out for your arrest, there might already be an ongoing criminal investigation and you might have even missed a court date. Very few courts are lenient on individuals who discover that they have an arrest warrant and fail to respond. While not responding to the arrest warrant is almost always the incorrect response, it can be hard to know exactly how to respond. This article will describe how you should respond if there is a warrant out for your arrest.
Step #1: Contact a Knowledgeable Criminal Defense Attorney
As soon as you discover that there is a warrant out for your arrest, contact a seasoned criminal defense attorney who can help you determine how to respond. An attorney will inform you about your constitutional right to remain silent when speaking with law enforcement. A person also has the constitutional right for a lawyer to be present during any type of custodial interrogation. It is critical that a person uses these rights. In some cases, the attorney might able to remove the arrest warrant.
Seasoned legal counsel can also help you navigate the process of interacting with a bonding agency, which can take steps to speed up the process with which you get out of jail. A bonding agency can also inform an individual about the best time of day to turn one’s self into jail. Bonding agencies have helped many similar individuals and can likely inform you about what the amount of your bond is likely to be based on your criminal record and the involved charges. If the bond in question is too high an amount, a skilled attorney can request a bond reduction which means that the bond amount might be lowered.
Step #2: Turn Yourself in to Jail
Turning yourself in to jail communicates a message to a court of law that a person is accepting responsibility for his or her actions. In many cases, the best time for a person to turn him or herself into law enforcement is early in the week when jails see their lowest amount of traffic. By turning one’s self into jail either at night or on the weekend, the amount of time to process will likely increase greatly. By turning one’s self into law enforcement early in the week, a person can also likely attend his or her first court date before the end of the week. It often takes 48 to 72 hours for a person to have a first court appearance after entering the jail.
How a Talented Lawyer Can Help You
Discovering that an arrest warrant exists in your name can be a frightening process. It is critical to remember that a warrant is merely an allegation rather than a criminal conviction and that a person remains innocent until convicted. In many cases, charges against a person attached to a warrant might ultimately be dismissed. Fortunately, there are some steps that individuals can take to decrease the severity of the consequences that might result. By contacting an attorney at Federal Criminal Law Center and taking the necessary steps, the warrant process can be made much less frightening.