What Can Lead to a Bench Warrant?

Bench warrants may be issued for any number of reasons but some of the most common ones are:

• • Missing a court date. If an individual has a court hearing and doesn’t show up, the judge can issue a bench warrant for the person’s arrest. Attendance at criminal proceedings, such as evidentiary hearings, preliminary hearings, pre-trial, criminal trials or even civil proceedings are not usually optional. Failure to appear to any type of court hearing may result in a bench warrant.
• • Violation of probation. When a person is released on probation, they are freed with the expectation that they will comply with the terms of their release. If these rules are not followed, a judge may order their arrest.
• • Skipping traffic court. Although traffic court matters generally aren’t criminalized, court appearance at traffic court dates is still mandatory. Failure to appear at traffic court can be treated the same as failure to appear before a criminal court. Each year in Georgia, hundreds of thousands of people miss traffic court hearings.
• • Grand jury indictment or sworn affidavit. When a grand jury indicts someone for a crime or someone accuses another person of a crime by a sworn affidavit, bench warrants are usually issued for the charged individuals.

 
Judges are given discretion to make decisions based on the circumstances of the matters before them. Although the above scenarios often lead to bench warrants, judges have the ability to issue more standard arrest warrants when the situation is serious enough.

What to Do if You Have a Bench Warrant

If you or a loved one have or even just suspect that you might have a bench warrant issued against you, it is important to talk with an attorney immediately. Attorneys can help in several ways:

• • If there was an emergency or compelling reason for a failure to appear, your attorney can present your argument to the court in an attempt to get the penalties reduced or thrown out.
• • If you need to surrender to law enforcement, your attorney can make sure you arrive prepared to navigate arrest as quickly as possible and negotiate your release on bail.