How to Get Rid of Your Michigan Arrest Warrant.
How to get rid of your Michigan arrest warrant.
Michigan Arrest Warrants
What is an Arrest Warrant?
In Michigan, arrest warrants are generally issued by courts in connection with criminal cases. They help the case move forward, as the person being arrested is needed in court to answer for a crime.
An arrest warrant issued by a Michigan court gives the police the authority to arrest the individual named in the warrant. It grants law enforcement the authority to arrest the person named in the document. Before the judge signs the warrant, the judge must check to ensure that it includes the proper information. This includes:
The specific crime to have been allegedly committed;
Facts asserted by the officer that supports a finding of probable cause and that the named person is responsible for the crime;
Name and address of the arrestee/suspect; and
Other relevant information.
The requesting officer should present any relevant information for the purposes of accuracy. Many police officers or prosecutors try to establish probable cause before presenting the warrant request to the court. The judge, typically, almost always grants the officer’s request for a warrant. Unfortunately, the request for a warrant is usually only a one-sided affair. The officers never present any evidence to the court that tends to favor the accused.
What happens once the Michigan warrant has been issued?
Once a Michigan court authorizes the arrest warrant, the police are legally entitled to arrest the accused wherever the person can be found. This means that the suspect can be arrested at his or her home, work, after a traffic stop, and anywhere else the police find the person. It doesn’t matter what the person is doing at the time. There may be restrictions on how or where the individual named can be arrested depending on the particular facts of the case.
Generally, a person will not receive notification if an arrest warrant has been issued for their arrest. Sometimes, however, the police will send a letter to your home telling you that you have a warrant for your arrest. Usually, the letter states “in order to avoid embarrassment of an arrest at your home or work, you need to turn yourself in.”
Once the arrest warrant has ben issued, the case is formally in the criminal court system. The warrant will be entered in LEIN, that is, the Michigan State Police Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN ). This means that if you have a Michigan warrant for your arrest you could be arrested in Kentucky, or anywhere else, if the officer discovers the warrant.
Once the Michigan court issues the police may begin searching for the person immediately. This means that the person can be arrested as soon as the arrest warrant issued and the person is found. There is no required waiting period or delay before the police can begin looking to arrest the individual.
Are an arrest warrant and a bench warrant the same?
No. When a Michigan court issues an arrest warrant that person is wanted to answer for a crime. A Michigan judge issues a bench warrant because a person did not pay fines and costs, violated probation, failed to appear in court, or failed to do something required by the court.
However, just like an arrest warrant, a bench warrant can also result in jail time specially if you continue to comply with court orders.
Can a Michigan arrest warrant be issued even if you are innocent?
Yes. As I stated earlier, once an officer asks the court to issue an arrest warrant, the court usually does so automatically. This means that once the officer tells the court that you are a suspect, then you could be arrested. An arrest warrant can be issued on a weak case. But, you would still get arrested. So, if the police do a poor job investigating the case you could be arrested even if you are innocent. We have seen this happen too many times. Specifically, we mean the police simply write a report without doing any further investigatory work. They just type what an alleged victim tells them and off they go to request a warrant. I’m sorry to say that there are detectives who do very little detecting.
So, even if you did not commit a crime and the arrest warrant was wrongfully issued for your arrest – you will still be arrested. The police do not sort matters out in the street. They will tell you that you have to go to court to resolve the case. They will not let you no matter what you say to them so you are better off remaining silent. As long as the name on the warrant matches your identification, you will not be able to avoid the Michigan arrest warrant.
If you believe that a warrant has been wrongly issued for your arrest, you must immediately an attorney to assist you. Do not under any circumstances speak with the police to try and clear your name. Please click the “Learn More” button to read why you should remain silent.
Your attorney can help you get rid of the warrant. Additionally, an attorney can look into the case and see what can be done to fix the situation. An outstanding warrant for your arrest is a serious matter and you should contact an attorney as soon as you believe you are wanted by the police.
The importance of an attorney cannot be overstated at every stage of a criminal proceeding. A person can lose the upper hand in a criminal case by delaying the process to hire a lawyer.
Do Michigan warrants ever expire?
No. Generally speaking, Michigan warrants never expire. This includes bench warrants.
Since Michigan warrants do not expire there can be situations where an arrest warrant stays active for years or even decades. The warrant will appear during a routine traffic stop.
Just recently we had this occur to one of our clients in 36th District Court in Detroit. Originally, 10 years ago, the client had pled guilty to an offense. The client received a sentence and had a review date scheduled. The client did not receive notice in the mail. Because the client did not receive notice, the client did not appear. The court issued a bench warrant. The client had been stopped for a stop sign violation. The officer informed the client of the 10 year old warrant. The client had no idea that a bench warrant had been issued.
We went to court and got rid of the warrant and ultimately had the case dismissed.
So, the moral of the story is, warrants will last forever until you appear in court. You can’t outrun a warrant. You are much better off taking care of the warrant as soon as possible instead of living in fear of an arrest. The longer you avoid the warrant, the worse it looks for you.
If you want to get rid of a warrant you should contact an attorney right away. He or she can explain your legal rights to you and explain how to have the warrant lifted in the easiest way to you. Having a Michigan warrant for your arrest will create issues in many areas of your life. A lawyer will help to lessen the effects.
Can you just pay to get rid of the warrant?
Sometimes. This depends on the reason the Michigan court issued the warrant in the first place. Specifically, if an arrest warrant has been issued for a criminal charge, you will not be able to pay money to the court to get rid of the warrant. You will have to appear in court.
However, bench warrants can be issued because a person did not pay traffic fines. In that sense, the court will sometimes allow you to just pay the ticket to get rid of the warrant. The same may apply to outstanding fines and costs.
Do you need an attorney to get rid of the warrant?
Yes. If you want to protect your legal rights the answer is always – yes. If you are proactive, we can do the following:
Prevent an arrest at your home or work
Contact the police department to inform them that you retained our office and we will arrange to have you brought to court voluntarily
Minimize charges against you
Attend the arraignment to obtain a personal bond or a reasonable cash bond
Arraignment on the Michigan warrant
If there is a warrant for your arrest and you retain our office we can contact the police department and court to make arrangements to get rid of the warrant. This process is called an arraignemnt.
An arraignment is the first court appearance after a person has been charged or arrested. Most of the courts in Macomb County conduct arraignments via video from the local police stations or Macomb County Jail.
The purpose of an arraignment is to let you know the charges and to set a bond. Typically, a “not guilty” plea is entered on your behalf. If you appear at court for the arraignment with an attorney your bond will usually be a personal bond. Even in serious cases, the bond will be much lower if you appear with counsel as a “walk-in” arraignment.
Michigan law states that a person is entitled to bond pursuant to MCL 765.6. The court will consider the following factors before issuing a bond:
The likelihood the person will appear in court given the seriousness of the offense charged.
The protection of the public.
The individual’s criminal history
Any failures to appear (capias history)
Depending on the type of criminal charges, the court may issue further restrictions. For example for drinking and driving offenses the court may order an alcohol tether , drug and alcohol testing, or even a SCRAM tether. Instead of having a person sit in jail the court may order house arrest or a GPS tether. In domestic violence cases the court will issue a “no contact” order.
The presence of an attorney at an arraignment and bond hearing is critical. The Czarnecki Taylor law firm had been hired by Macomb County to conduct a several month study to determine the positive effects an attorney can have at arraignment.
Based on our study, the courts now provide a court appointed attorney at all arraignments. The attorney is only present for the arraignment and does not continue with your case.
Hiring your own attorney for an arraignment has serious advantages. Your attorney can ask the court for a personal bond. Why does a retained attorney help so much? When you voluntarily appear for the arraignment with your own lawyer you show that you are taking the case seriously. You show the court you made an investment in your case and you will appear for each court appearance. Also, your attorney had been in communication with the courts to arrange the arraignment time and date.
A retained attorney can mean the difference between a personal bond and a cash bond. As stated, even if the court issues a cash bond for a serious case, the bond will almost always be lower than it would be without your lawyer.
How to get rid of your Michigan arrest warrant?
So, here were are at the main point of the article. How do you get rid of your Michigan arrest warrant? You have to appear in court with your attorney.
There is no way around the warrant. As I have already said, warrants never go away. So, it is best to just clear it up by appearing in court with the protection of an attorney. There are no secret maneuvers. Getting rid of an arrest warrant can sometimes be difficult, but it is always possible. You should contact an attorney for advice and guidance.
Czarnecki Taylor proactive case managment
At Czarnecki Taylor we believe in proactive criminal case management from the very first moment you believe you are a suspect in a crime. By getting involved early, and when possible, we can work to prevent a criminal case from getting charged against you in the first place. We work to avoid an arrest warrant. Other times, we can speak with the prosecutor to have the charges reduced before the case is filed in the court. Our early involvement in the case allows us to use every opportunity to work the case on your behalf.
As Macomb County’s most effective criminal defense attorneys we can protect you at every stage of a criminal proceeding.
If you are a suspect in a crime, have been arrested, or a warrant has been issued for your arrest contact our law firm at any time. We will take immediate action to protect you at every opportunity.