Florida Warrants
If you have an outstanding arrest warrant, it is very important that you do not simply ignore it, because that will only make matters worse. Instead, get in touch with a criminal attorney as soon as possible and identify the best way forward in this situation. Depending on how and for what reason your warrant was issued, a savvy criminal defense attorney may be able to have the warrant recalled without you needing to go to jail. If your situation does not allow for the warrant to be recalled without an arrest having to be made, our team can provide you with various bondsmen who can help in coordination with us to get you in and out as soon as possible at the lowest amount of bond possible. It can be difficult to voluntarily turn yourself in, but when you have the help of a trustworthy lawyer who is on your side, you can do so with confidence knowing that you are taking the right steps and will be out quickly.
Read more below to learn about what outstanding warrants are, why ignoring them will only make things worse, and what you can expect when you are partnered with the team at Parikh Law as you move forward with the upcoming process.
What are Outstanding Warrants?
When an individual is formally charged with committing a crime, a judge then authorizes law enforcement officers to carry out their arrest. This authorization is known as an arrest warrant, and it includes information like the name of the suspect and the crimes that they are being charged with. Arrests warrants can also often be issued for a failure to appear. A failure to appear occurs when the individual fails to show up to court for a particular court date. This can happen when the notice for the court date goes to the wrong address and the individual never receives notice of their court date.
In some cases, a warrant may be issued for an individual’s arrest but the suspect either does not know about the warrant or is actively avoiding law enforcement to evade arrest. In either case, the law enforcement agency will continue to hold this warrant until they are able to serve it, at which point the suspect will be arrested for the crimes alleged in the document.
Florida Outstanding Warrants
If a warrant has been issued but has not been served due to any circumstance, it is considered outstanding. The most appropriate way to handle an outstanding warrant in Florida is to hire an attorney immediately and start working on the best ways to resolve these issues as soon as you can.
The Effects of Outstanding Warrants
Some crimes have what is known as a “statute of limitations” on them, which means that they expire after a certain amount of time. There are other crimes, though, such as murder, that do not have statutes of limitations, and the warrants will remain outstanding until the suspect is arrested. During the time that a warrant is outstanding, meaning that it has not been outstanding past the statute of limitations, there are a variety of impacts that the warrant can have on the individual’s life.
During the time that a warrant is outstanding, there are a variety of impacts that the warrant can have on the individual’s life.
If a suspect has an outstanding warrant and receives benefits from Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, these benefits can be frozen which may have a serious impact on your life, as well as your family and your dependents. In addition, there is significant stress that comes with knowing about an outstanding warrant and evading contact with the police, since you can be arrested at any time. Law enforcement will usually start by coming to your last known place of residence and place of work. It can be highly embarrassing and traumatic to be arrested in front of your boss and co-workers or at home in front of your family. If you have an outstanding warrant and are arrested in a different state, you will be transported to the state where the warrant originated in order to face the criminal system there. It is very important that you contact an experienced warrant recall and bond attorney in order to make the process of recalling your warrant or getting you bond as smooth as possible.
Bond Hearing Process
After you are arrested for a crime, whether or not your arrest stemmed from an outstanding warrant, there is usually an opportunity for you to have a bond issued. Many times, warrants based on a failure to appear will have what is known as a $0.00 bond, meaning the judge set bond at none. In these cases, you will need an experienced defense attorney to file a motion to set bond and then get a hearing on the bond. Once you are given a bond by the judge, our office can refer you to a number of competent bail bondsmen who will help you post the bond. A bond is a guarantee that you will comply with the terms of your release, and that if you violate these terms, the bond will be revoked and the money will be forfeited.
In order to determine whether or not you are eligible for a bond, you will need to attend a bond hearing. This generally takes place at the same time as your arraignment, the first hearing of your criminal case where your charges are read and you are able to enter a plea.
During the bond hearing, your attorney will request that you are released for the duration of your trial, and the judge will either approve or deny this request. If approved, the judge will set a bond amount that will be held as collateral as a way to indicate that you plan to act in good faith and to comply with all of the requirements and necessary appearances for your case. If you violate the terms of the bond, then the funds will be forfeited and another warrant for your arrest will be issued—likely without the option for a second bond.
The best way to improve your chances of success during your bond hearing process is by working with an experienced attorney who understands the Florida courts and what to expect from this hearing. The team at Parikh Law is ready to help you as soon as possible and is highly experienced regarding bail bonds, recalling warrants, and helping clients through the process of eliminating the bond and then ultimately resolving their entire case.