Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Types and withdrawal of bench warrant

Bench warrant:

It is a legal document issued by a judge authorizing a person’s arrest.  A judge may issue this type of warrant when a person falls short to act in accordance with a court order or requirement. Law enforcement officers have the authority to pick up the subject of warrant and bring the concerned person to court to address the charges of a bench warrant. Typically, it is used as a tool for fighting contempt of court; a determined disregard of a court order. As a general rule, it is always good to avoid contempt of court anyway, as the penalties can be stern.

To cut it short, bench warrant is a written order issued by judge consent to the arrest of a person charged with some crime, or misdemeanor. 





Bench warrant types:       
                                          
In general these types of warrant orders are either civil bench warrants or criminal bench warrants.  However the warrant is issued when a defendant received a notice to appear in court and failed to do so (it includes civil and criminal). Following are some of the instance when this type of warrant may be issued:
  • A person called to testify before the court and fails to appear.
  • A parent has received a subpoena (A writ ordering a person to attend a court) to appear before a custody trial and does not turn up.
  • A lawbreaker been charged with a brutal traffic violation like a DUI and fails to appear at the listed court date.
  • A condemnation has been unconfined for a person charged with an illicit violation and that person fails to be present at the scheduled court hearing.
Withdrawal of bench warrant:
              
When it comes to warrants, they must never be withdrawn on the grounds of expediency alone. In order to withdraw a warrant the case reviewer must be able to justify a result appropriate to the victim.
The most important accountability for evaluating outstanding warrants lies with the police. If the police request that the CPS (crown prosecution service) pull out a warrant, then one ought to re-review the case to find out whether we withdraw the warrant, the substantive offence or both, it should be reviewed separately.