New York City Bench Warrants and Arrest Warrants
If you have a warrant out for your arrest in New York City, you should contact our New York criminal defense attorneys immediately at (866) 213-1933 so that we can surrender you as soon as possible. This may seem like a foolish thing to do, but read on and you will soon understand why this is your best option. You’re at risk of being involuntarily arrested, processed at the police station and brought to the Criminal Court on the New York Police Departments timetable. Often you will spend at least 24 hours (usually more) awaiting your appearance in front of the judge. If you’re arrested on a Friday, often you will have to wait until Monday to see the judge that issued the warrant. Not until the criminal court judge vacates your warrant, are you free from the threat of being arrested.
You must realize that if you do have a warrant out for your arrest, any lawyer that you consult, including our New York criminal defense lawyers, is going to advise you to surrender yourself. Our New York criminal defense attorneys will personally go with you to the police station or court to surrender you. Unfortunately, this is your best option regarding a warrant situation. By surrendering yourself, you gain an advantage over those who are involuntarily dragged to court by police officers. When we surrender you we will officially invoke your rights to protect you and make sure that you do not say anything that can harm you later.
What is a Bench Warrant?
Bench Warrants Issued for Failure to Appear in Court
The most common type of warrant is a bench warrant. A bench warrant is issued by the Court when you fail to appear in Court on the date you were scheduled to appear.
Failure to Show Proof of Community Service or Failure to Pay Fine
The warrant could have been issued after your criminal case was over because:
- you failed to do the community service that was ordered, or
- you failed to pay a fine that was imposed
Failure to Appear on an Open Case
The warrant could have been issued while your criminal case is still going on, but before there has been any final resolution. Basically, you failed to appear at a scheduled court appearance date for an open case.
Failure to Appear for Sentence after Conviction
The warrant could have been issued after you accepted a plea or completed your trial but before sentence has been imposed if you failed to show for sentencing.
What is an Arrest Warrant?
The other kind of warrant is an arrest warrant. This is when the police actually obtain a formal document from a judge allowing them to arrest you. An example of this sort of warrant is when the District Attorney presents a police investigation directly to a Grand Jury and they vote to indict people who have not been arrested yet. Once the Grand Jury votes to indict you, the Court can issue a warrant for your arrest.
If you find out that there is an arrest warrant for you, it is extremely important that you retain a skilled New York City criminal defense lawyer to represent you. We will prevent the police from legally obtaining any statements from you. Upon surrendering you, we will immediately invoke your right to counsel and right to remain silent. Once you’re arrested and awaiting arraignment, this is the time that you’re the most vulnerable to say something that can be used against you later. Even if you’re completely innocent you need an attorney to invoke your rights and you should not make any statements to the police.
If a detective or other police officer has called you and told you that you should come and surrender yourself or that they want to talk to you, call us immediately at (866) 213-1933. Do not go alone. This is what we do all day every day. Let our criminal defense lawyers protect you.
Returning on a Bench Warrant in New York City
If a bench warrant has been issued for your arrest, its important to have one of our criminal defense lawyers manage the process for you. Its recommended that you surrender yourself as soon as possible. We will monitor the situation and do our best to make sure that your surrender is handled in the best possible way.
How Our Criminal Defense Lawyers Make the Process Easier for You
We know how the courtroom operates. We know what to say and what NOT to say. Trying to do this on your own can lead to disastrous results.
Involuntarily Being Returned on A Warrant:
Why Not to Be Dragged into Court by the Cops (If You Have a Choice)
Police will often call you and ask you to meet them at the station or courthouse. These “meet” procedures are the worst way of surrendering yourself on a warrant. The cops will cuff you and drag you into court. The court views this as an involuntary return on a warrant. It does not look good for you that the police had to drag you into the courtroom.
Therefore, if you are contacted by the police and they request that you surrender yourself on an open warrant, you should contact us immediately so that we can accompany you to the courthouse before being involuntarily returned on the warrant. This is by far the best way to handle these situations and will the court will look favorably upon you doing it this way.
Bail Jumping Charges
In New York, its a crime to fail to voluntarily return to Court when you are schedule to be there. The crime is called Bail Jumping. In NY you can be separately prosecuted for Bail Jumping even if the original case is dismissed or if you go to trial and win the original case. The warrant needs to be issued for 30 days before you can be charged with Bail Jumping. The crime can result in 1 to 3 years in prison.
At What Point Am I Safe from Bail Jumping Charges?
If you have felony Bail Jumping charges the government must arrest you within 5 years due to a 5 year statute of limitations.
If your Bail Jumping charge is 5 years old or older, the first thing our criminal defense lawyers will do is make sure that we challenge the charges on the basis of the statute of limitations period running. This means that we may be able to get the charge dismissed because the government failed to indict you within 5 years from the date the crime occurred. This is one reason why its important to contact us if you have a Bail Jumping charge.
What Will Happen to Me If I am Returned on a Warrant?
If you have been charged with a felony or other serious crime, if you are not returned on the warrant in a controlled fashion by an attorney, the judge is extremely likely to set a very high bail or even remand you to jail with no bail option. If we surrender you, the likelihood of the judge setting a bail that you or your family could meet, or even possibly getting a second ROR, is greatly increased.
We will do everything in our power to attempt to convince the judge to set an amount of bail that you or your family could make upon your return on the warrant. Otherwise, you may be spending the entire time in jail while you await the outcome of the case.
