An arrest warrant is an instrument of the court that is used to compel an individual to appear in front of any magistrate (like a judge). A bench warrant is issued by a judge to compel an individual to appear before that specific judge.
If you are concerned that there may be a warrant out for your arrest, there are three ways to find out.
- Do searches online. There are many California counties that make warrant information available online, but for the most part, the larger counties do not. You will need to know some information about the underlying case and, ideally, what court the case is in. Unfortunately, not all jurisdictions make warrant information available, so not finding a warrant online will not conclude with certainty that there definitely are not warrants. For the jurisdictions that do not make this information available online, you can usually call the court’s clerk to get this information.
- Go to a law enforcement agency and have them do a fingerprint check for any warrants. This is inexpensive, but the downside is that if you do have any warrants, you will be taken into custody at that time.
- Hire an investigator to do the research required to find out if there are warrants for your arrest. This is more expensive, but will allow you to take steps to properly prepare and handle the underlying issue the warrant is for.
We, as a law firm, routinely handle these kinds of investigatory matters– going to work before an arrest to protect our client from potential arrest and subsequent prosecution.
A warrant is not issued absent another matter, meaning handling a warrant can be a small part of dealing with the underlying matter itself.
In many cases, we are able to resolve the warrant and handle the criminal matter, all without the client ever having to appear.
Call us today to speak with one of our attorneys to find out about our investigatory services for outstanding warrants, arrest warrants, or bench warrants. The initial consultation is at no cost.
The American Trial Lawyers Association has named him one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in California” each year since 2007. Los Angeles magazine has identified Darren as a “SuperLawyer” every year since 2010. Darren received an “AV Preeminent Rating” by Martindale-Hubbell (a peer review ranking that signals the highest level of professional excellence and ethics); a perfect 10.0 Rating by Avvo.com (an independent attorney ranking site), and many other accolades.