If you have an active arrest warrant in San Diego, California you could be arrested and taken into custody at any time and in any place. This means you could be taken from your home in the middle of the night, taken out of your vehicle while out with your family, or even arrested while at work. One question we are often asked when an individual finds out that he or she has an active warrant is “Can my attorney get my warrant withdrawn?” There is no simple answer to that question as most questions related to criminal cases are dependent on the specific facts and circumstances; however, it is almost always the case that you stand a better chance of resolving an open warrant with the assistance of an experienced San Diego criminal defense attorney than you do without one.
San Diego warrants can be issued for a number of reasons. Among the more common scenarios are:
- Investigation – arrests for less serious crimes are often made on the spot by a law enforcement officer. Arrests for serious crimes, however, are often made after a thorough investigation by law enforcement officers. When this is the case, an arrest warrant is usually requested once enough evidence exists to warrant the filing of charges.
- Failure to Appear – if you have charges pending and fail to appear for a court hearing, the judge will typically enter an order for your arrest to bring you before the court and answer for your failure to appear.
- Probation – if you have already been convicted and received probation as part of your sentence you are probably required to report on a regular basis as well as comply with various terms of your probation. Failing to report as directed or violating a term of your probation can cause a judge to issue an order for your arrest.
Depending on the reason for your warrant you may, or may not, already have a bond amount set. If you do not already have a bond set you will have to appear before a judge to determine your bond amount. In either case, once you are arrested you will have to be processed through and a bond paid before you can be released again, assuming the judge allows your release.
Although an attorney cannot just ask the court to withdraw a warrant in most cases, an attorney can streamline the process of your surrender and subsequent release. Instead of being arrested at an inconvenient or embarrassing time and place, for example, you can arrange a convenient time for you to turn yourself in to the court. Your attorney can also confirm the terms of your bond and have the paperwork ready to go before you are even arrested. If there is a question about your re-release, a judge will frequently take into consideration the fact that your turned yourself in on the warrant when deciding whether or not to release you and, if so, what to set your bond amount at to effectuate your release.
All in all it should be clear that retaining the assistance of a skilled California criminal defense attorney will likely save you time, money, and potential embarrassment if you find that you have an active warrant for your arrest.
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