If you find out that there is a bench warrant out for you in Utah, the best thing you can do is get in touch with an attorney to help you resolve it. They’ll schedule a court date on your behalf so you can resolve the issue that led to the bench warrant in the first place. Taking action to resolve your bench warrant as soon as you’re made aware of it does require some time and effort, but it’s better than being taken into custody and then held in jail until you’re able to appear in court. But, how can you know if you have a bench warrant in Utah? And what can you do about it if you do have one? In this blog post, Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyer Darwin Overson from Overson & Bugden, will let readers know how they can find out if they have a bench warrant in Utah and what they do to get it resolved as quickly as possible.
How to Find Out if You Have a Bench Warrant in Utah
There are a few ways to find out if there is a bench warrant against you in Utah. One way is to use the online search function provided by the Utah Department of Public Safety. This search tool can be found on the Utah Department of Public Safety’s website. You can use this tool to find out if there is a bench warrant against you by entering your name.
Another way to find out if there is a bench warrant out for you is to call the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification at (801) 965-4445. You can provide your name and find out if you have a bench warrant while still on the line. Finally, you can contact your county’s clerk of courts (which can be found using the online Utah court directory system) to determine if you have a bench warrant in Utah.
If you learn that you have a bench warrant by performing any of the above actions, you should act quickly to handle the issue. Overson & Bugden, is here to help you handle your bench warrant. To learn more about how bench warrants work, you should continue reading and speak with a skilled Utah bench warrant attorney.
Overview of Bench Warrants
Bench warrants are arrest warrants that are issued from a judge’s bench. Bench warrants are issued when someone has failed to appear in court for an arraignment, trial, sentencing, or otherwise. A bench warrant may also be issued if someone fails to adhere to the conditions of their probation, failed to comply with the terms of their restraining order, the defendant violated a custody order or was unable to pay a court fine within a reasonable amount of time. Bench warrants permit police officers to take someone into custody to bring them into court.
Note, however, that if you have a bench warrant for your arrest, this does not mean that law enforcement will take time to come to your home or other whereabouts to arrest you. Instead, law enforcement will likely arrest you after they already have a reason to interact with you. You should never use this as an excuse to ignore your bench warrant, as you never know when you could come into contact with law enforcement. For example, if you were pulled over for ignoring a traffic signal, law enforcement may notice you have an open bench warrant and take you into custody.
After the police have taken you into custody, you will be held in jail until a court date can be scheduled, or you will go directly into a courtroom. You will likely be able to apply for bail, which a judge will deny or accept depending on the circumstances of your case and your assumed flight risk. If you are having issues with securing the money to meet your bail amount, you may be able to request assistance from a bail bond company. However, you should be aware that a bail bond company may charge you roughly 10% of the bail amount to bail you out. Additionally, if you forfeit bail after contracting with a bail bond company, it is possible that the bail bond company may turn your case over to a bounty hunter.
If your bail application is approved, you will be permitted to leave jail and go home while you await your court date. If you are released from jail after posting bail, but you don’t appear in court on your scheduled date, you will be charged with bail-jumping, a crime that can result in up to five years in jail.
Note that bench warrants don’t expire and last as long as the original violation is within its statute of limitations. Courts can renew and reissue whenever they’d like, depending on the defendant’s charges.
How to Deal with a Bench Warrant in Utah
If you find out that there is a bench warrant out for you in Utah, don’t attempt to handle it by yourself. The best thing you can do for yourself if you have a bench warrant is to seek counsel from an experienced criminal attorney as quickly as possible.
If you find out about your bench warrant before you are taken into custody, an attorney can help you by scheduling a court date, at which time you can speak with a judge and resolve the issue that led to the bench warrant. When you appear in court, you can ask the judge to recall your bench warrant.
How to Get a Warrant Recalled
To begin the process of requesting a warrant recall, you must schedule an appointment at the Utah court in the county where the warrant was issued. However, it may be possible to walk in to handle your bench warrant.
When requesting a warrant recall, you should be aware that the court will not agree to simply recall the warrant upon asking. The subject of the bench warrant will have to convince the judge of one or more reasons to recall the warrant. For example, if a bench warrant was issued for your arrest due to a failure to pay child support, you must assure the court that you will be able to meet your obligations in the future. The argument you make before the court may change depending on the circumstances of your case.
Overson & Bugden, is here to help you build an argument that can help you show the court why your bench warrant should be recalled. Our attorneys have extensive experience handling many types of bench warrants, and we would be pleased to work with you.
How Bench Warrants are Different from Arrest Warrants and Search Warrants
The main difference between bench warrants and arrest warrants is that bench warrants don’t permit police officers to enter your home to arrest you as arrest warrants do. Bench warrants only put your name on a registry, which police can access if they come into contact with you for a reason such as a traffic violation or a drunk driving incident.
Arrest warrants, on the other hand, are issued when police have probable cause to believe that someone committed a crime. Arrest warrants allow police to enter someone’s home or place of employment to arrest you and take you to a jail or detention center. You should be aware that an arrest warrant does not provide law enforcement with the opportunity to search your entire home. However, law enforcement can seize evidence of criminal activity that is within plain sight, and they can search the immediate area around a suspect for weapons or other contraband.
Both arrest warrants and bench warrants are different from search warrants in that search warrants only allow police to search someone’s property. Specifically, law enforcement will apply for a search warrant for a property when they have reason to believe the owner of the property is engaged in criminal activity.
To be approved for a warrant, law enforcement will have to prove to a judge that they have probable cause to believe the subject of the warrant has committed a crime. There are some circumstances where the subject of the warrant will be warned of the search. However, it is more likely that law enforcement will arrive at your property when they believe they will find evidence of the crime in question. This means that police officers may execute a warrant in the afternoon or even in the early hours of the morning.
It is important to note that a search warrant can only be carried out for the items that law enforcement expects to find on the property. This means that law enforcement cannot search areas of a person’s property where the item could not possibly be hidden. For example, if law enforcement is looking for large stolen appliances, they could not search a small drawer where the items cannot fit.
If you believe that law enforcement violated the scope of the warrant, you should speak with an experienced attorney to discuss your concerns.
What to Do if Your Warrant Recall is Denied
There is a chance that a judge may not agree to recall your warrant for a number of reasons. For instance, if you previously violated your bail agreement, the court may decline to recall your warrant if they believe you may jump bail again.
However, there may be some cases where a court will approve bail for a person instead of approving a warrant recall.
Why You Should Hire a Utah Criminal Defense Attorney to Handle Your Bench Warrant
After learning that you have a bench warrant in your name, it would be wise to avoid handling this situation alone. While police are not actively looking to arrest you on a bench warrant, you should attempt to get ahead of the matter as soon as you can.
Working with an experienced Salt Lake City Bench Warrant lawyer will be your best option to handle your case. An experienced criminal defense attorney will understand the local and state laws that apply to your case and will be able to develop a defense plan that is unique to your case.
Overson & Bugden, can help you in negotiations to have your bench warrant recalled or can assist you in arguing for bail if your case warrant recall was unsuccessful.
There are many other benefits to hiring a criminal defense attorney to resolve your bench warrant. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you regarding the details of your case and the legal options available to you.
Bench Warrant Lawyer Serving Salt Lake City
If you suspect that there is a bench warrant out for you in Utah, find out for sure as soon as possible. If a bench warrant has been issued, get in touch with an attorney to help you resolve it. The Utah criminal defense lawyers from Overson & Bugden are available to help people in Salt Lake City resolve their bench warrants. The legal team at Overson & Bugden, possesses a wealth of experience litigating a variety of criminal cases, and we would be pleased to offer you the criminal defense that you deserve. Get in touch with them by calling (801) 758-2287 to schedule your free legal consultation today. You may also contact our experienced criminal defense attorneys by using our online submission form to schedule your appointment.Top of Form
