06/05/2015
What do I do if I find out I have a warrant for my arrest?
A person can have a warrant for arrest under a variety of circumstances. The warrant could be for new charges, or failure to pay costs/fines on an existing case, or failure to appear on an existing case, or a motion to revoke a suspended sentence, or an application to accelerate a deferred sentence, or removal from drug court or removal from mental health court for various violations. The first thing for you to do is call me or another bondsman. I will determine what the warrant is for. In most cases the bail amount is already set on warrants – the judge sets the bail amount at the same time he orders the warrant, but in some cases a hearing is required first and in other cases it is a cash only bond so it is important for the bondsman to determine what you need to do and when you need to do it.
If the warrant is for new charges that have been filed against you then I will find out how much the bail amount is and I will obtain a copy of the probable cause affidavit (which explains why you are being charged, what you are being charged with and when the event allegedly took place). I will arrange a time with you to do a ‘walk-through’. This is where you turn yourself in and I am there with you to bond you right back out. So you would meet me at the jail lobby, I would advise the officers that you are turning yourself in on the warrant and that I am bonding you right back out. The officers will book you; take your photo and fingerprints and information as part of normal booking. In the meantime I am doing the paperwork on your Appearance Bond, which is submitted to the Detention Officers. After you are booked in then you are immediately released on the bond I posted. Generally on warrants like this your court date is going to be the next business day after being booked (whether you turn yourself in or you are arrested in the field by the officers). So your court date will generally be the next day at 1:30PM. Sometimes a person is not able to turn themselves in right away due to employment or other reasons. In this case I arrange a date and time with you as to when it is feasible to turn yourself in, then I notify the sheriff’s office that I will be accompanying you on the arranged date to turn you in (this lets them know so they do not come to your home or work to execute an arrest). It is always easier and much less stressful to turn yourself in on warrants – it also places control back in your hands instead of someone else coming out and restraining you and taking control of you. You are able to maintain a certain amount of dignity when you turn yourself in. It also looks better to the judge and the district attorney when you have turned yourself in on a warrant.
Generally when you turn yourself in the entire process takes less than two hours. That includes the time it takes to do the paperwork associated with the bail bond. Then your court date will typically be the next day at 1:30PM and you would want to allow a couple of hours for that court session especially if you are taking off work you want to take off enough time and not cut yourself short. During that court session when your case is called the District Attorney will provide you will an information sheet that includes your official charges. The judge will verify with you that your personal information is correct and he will set up another court date and advise you to retain an attorney and come with your attorney on the next court date (this next court date can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 weeks away in general depending on how full the docket calendar is). If you are unemployed, and someone else paid your bond, the judge may allow you to fill out an application for a court appointed attorney, but in most cases if you bond out the judge is not generally going to entertain a court appointed application on your behalf. The decision for a court appointed attorney is made by the judge and is fairly individualized, so it all depends on all the circumstances involved. Here, I have provided the general and common type of situations. If you have any questions about this or any other matter relating to bonding please feel free to call me at 918-352-8172.
