Warrants

Warrants are court orders issued to all law enforcement requiring the arrest of a person. Sometimes law enforcement may go to the last known address of a person with a warrant in an attempt to find him. If law enforcement comes upon a person who has a warrant out for them, they will usually be immediately arrested and incarcerated until they come before the court that issued the warrant.

Warrants are issued for a variety of reasons but the most common reason is when the client fails to appear at a court date. Other justifications for the court to issue warrants include failing to report to a probation officer, failure to complete a court ordered program, failure to pay fines and failure to follow other court requirements.

On occasion a warrant will be issued by the court at the request of the District Attorney without advising the client. This usually occurs after the District Attorney has completed an investigation and has decided that the client needs to be taken into custody right away either because the crime is serious or there is a concern that the client may leave the area. For many cases however, the client is sent a letter and told to appear at a certain date, time and place. Failure to appear at the time indicated on the letter can cause a warrant to issue. Most clients are issued tickets and told to appear in court on a certain date.

If you have a warrant out for your arrest you should contact Mr. Welbourn immediately to get advice. On some misdemeanor warrants Mr. Welbourn may be able to appear without you being present. It is also a good idea to have an attorney with you on a felony warrant as well since in certain circumstances he may be able to get you released without bail and with a new date to appear. Generally speaking it is a better idea to turn yourself in on warrant WITH YOUR ATTORNEY PRESENT because the court looks favorably upon that.