Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
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A bench warrant (“BW”) does not expire. It remains in effect until either:
If there is a BW out for your arrest, you can clear it by either:
If your bench warrant does not get cleared, you risk getting arrested. And a judge may:
A “bench warrant” (sometimes referred to as a “body attachment“) is the most common type of warrant issued. It is issued from “the bench,” which means the judge. These warrants are not issued because of suspected criminal activity. Rather, a judge authorizes a BW typically because you failed to:
A BW issued for your arrest authorizes law enforcement personnel to arrest you and bring you directly to court.
A bench warrant does not expire. It is not deleted or removed after, say, five years. Rather, it remains in effect until:
Likewise, arrest warrants generally do not expire until you are apprehended or the court recalls the warrant.
BWs do not expire because, if they did, it would encourage bad and dishonest behavior. You would be incentivized to spend a period of time avoiding a judge, or lying to a court, in order to escape arrest.
Clearing a BW is also referred to as “recalling” or “quashing” one. Quashing a bench warrant means having it cleared from the judicial system.
You must appear in court in order to recall a warrant.
In general, you can have your attorney appear in court on your behalf, provided that:
If, though, you failed to obey a court order that arose out of a felony case, you usually must be present in court personally (with or without an attorney) in order to clear a BW.
In trying to quash a bench warrant, you (or your attorney) can try to do so by arguing that:
It is critical for you to contact an experienced warrants attorney when trying to recall a BW.
Please note that if you appear in court in an attempt to clear a warrant, the judge does have the option to place you in custody. An attorney would help ensure that this does not happen. Attorneys also know:
Bench warrants do not expire. You must be arrested, or the judge must recall the warrant.
If you do not clear a BW, law enforcement personnel have the authority to arrest you and bring you to court.
Once brought to court, the judge can either:
The judge will make this decision after considering your:
Please also note that if a BW does not get recalled, it could lead to:
Not necessarily. In many cases you may not even learn about the warrant until:
Between Live Scan and other criminal history databases, people now have the tools to look back decades when researching your criminal history.
As stated above, one of the reasons a BW may get issued is if you fail to appear for a court appearance. Failure to appear (“FTA”) is a crime. Depending on the state, you face misdemeanor or felony charges for FTA.
In addition to bench warrants, there are:
As with other states, California judges issue bench warrants for people who fail to obey its orders. Common reasons for bench warrants are:
Willfully failure to appear (FTA) is a criminal charge in California. The court presumes willfulness if 14 days pass from the assigned court date without you appearing.
For misdemeanor cases, FTA penalties include up to $1,000 and six months in jail. For felony cases, penalties include up to three years in jail and up to $5,000 (or up to $10,000 if you had posted bail).
If you are arrested on a bench warrant, you may be able to get released right away by posting bail. Though certain bench warrants are “no bail,” which means you have to appear before a judge before you can be released.1
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.