Bench Warrants/Probation Violations Lawyer Los Angeles
What do you do if you have a bench warrant? It is well known among judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys in this business that it is always better for a person to come into court through the front door rather than coming in escorted by the Sheriff through the back door. You definitely need an attorney who will fight to keep you out of custody even if you have a warrant for your arrest.
No one wants to post bail. It’s wasted money you can never get back from a bondsman. The best way to do this is to go to court with an attorney. This is for all misdemeanor or felony cases and some types of traffic cases such as DUI’s and driving on a suspended license. This is essential.
Warrants issue in two types of circumstances. Bench warrants are issued by the court for your failure to appear after you have been ordered to appear and you did not. Bail would be set by the court. This can happen if you miss a court date on an ongoing case, got a letter from a prosecuting agency that a case has been filed against you or if you failed to appear after you received a traffic ticket. If you appear in court voluntarily with your lawyer, it is much more likely the judge will no longer require bail. Why is this? Because the court will take notice that you are taking responsibility for your failure to appear by 1) hiring an attorney and 2) coming to court voluntarily. In the judge’s mind, you are much less likely to not appear again after you spend money on a lawyer. Bail is generally set to ensure you appear in court next time around or the court takes your money.
The second type of warrant is much more serious and is called an arrest warrant. An arrest warrant is issued when a prosecutor files charges on you before you have been arrested and asks a judge to set bail before you are even arrested. In many cases the bail set is very high. Once again, if you hire a lawyer and appear in court, the court may set aside the need for bail to ensure your appearance in court for the next court date.
Probation violations occur when a person has been placed on either felony or misdemeanor probation. Probation violations can occur for persons on supervised probation or on summary probation which is not supervised. Probation violations can occur for many, many reasons.
If you are found to be in violation of probation, the consequences can be severe. You can go to jail for up to the full and maximum sentence, or state prison to serve a term. If you were given a suspended sentence to state prison, you MUST go to prison for the full amount of time if you are in violation of your probation. The judge has NO discretion by law to reduce your suspended sentence.
Probation violations require a hearing in front of the judge. Witnesses may be called. Subpoenas can issue. You are entitled to a lawyer since your freedom is at stake. Violations can occur for non-payment of a fine or failure to fulfill part of your probationary sentence such as not going to AA meetings if required. Probation violations can also occur for committing new crimes or being convicted of another crime not even related to the crime you are on probation for.
Probation violations can be minimized with help from a good lawyer most of the time. This requires a person to have an attorney who knows the law, understands how the court system can be used to benefit the client and has a lot of experience. Mr. Melnik has over 20 years of criminal defense courtroom experience in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties and will give you his best efforts to resolve your probation violation or warrant in the best way possible.
