Bench Warrants
This is a common question. The “blunt” answer is an emphatic “yes!” Indeed, I’ve witnessed police officers assigned to the warrants division to appear in court rooms just to arrest people with outstanding warrants. Why? Well, simply put, there is now money to be made with recall fees and/or attachment bonds. But, even before this practice became vogue, you always had the risk of getting caught. It is not uncommon for savvy prosecutors to do routine warrant checks for people appearing on their docket-especially if they didn’t particularly care for the defendant or wanted to exercise some leverage over them. So, it is best to recall the warrant and resolve this hassle.
But, there are a few more important reasons to recall warrants. First, and most importantly, these warrants are filed within a national register known as NCIC. This means you are subjected to an arrest wherever you go. A speeding ticket on vacation can quickly morph into an expensive nightmare when you are jailed in a foreign town and potentially waiting 60 days to be extradited.
Second, there are mechanisms in place to suspend your driving privileges for outstanding traffic warrants. These “flags” can become expensive to remove and adversely effect your employment. Why run the risk.
Recalling A Warrant
For the most part, recalling a traffic warrant is easy. Sometimes a phone call and payment will suffice. Other times a court appearance to be served with another date is required. But, as a general rule, taking care of the warrant BEFORE you are arrested tends to work out more favorably for you.
