A bench warrant in Salisbury MD is an arrest warrant that the judge or court issues. The reason for issuing the bench warrant is usually when a person does not comply with an order of the court or some requirement from the court.
Once the bench warrant is issued, the police are free to find the offender, pick him up and deliver him to the court and address the charges. The offender is actually taken before the judge who issued the warrant in Salisbury MD. Bench warrants are often used to fight against contempt of court or any disrespect for the court. It is the decision of the judge to file a bench warrant or not, some judges are more prone to using the warrant than others. When you have an order issues by the court, you are well advised to follow it as the penalties for contempt can be quite harsh.
If you have been accused of a crime and bail was granted and you failed to appear, a bench warrant will be sworn out for your arrest. A letter is often sent to the persons last known address telling them the circumstances and demanding they turn themselves in. At this time, you need to contact your lawyer for advice because you may jeopardize your bond, it may be forfeited. If you are arrested, and you can be stopped for the simplest infraction, you can be incarcerated for up to 30 days without the possibility of bail.
Even if you are not accused of a crime, you can be the subject of a bench warrant is Salisbury MD. This will be the case if you do not appear when summoned to serve jury duty. The warrant for arrest will be issued by the judge and you will have to appear and explain your actions. Most judges will not issue a warrant for simply failing to show for jury duty due to the paper work the warrant entails, but they most certainly will issue a warrant for someone who missed their court date or someone who was subpoenaed to testify in a case.
How is the bench warrant instigated?
A bench warrant can only be issued by a judge that has personal knowledge of the contemptuous issues that instigated the warrant in the first place. If this is not the case, the judge must wait to issue the warrant until he has a request from someone who files an affidavit requesting the bench warrant. An example of this is the failure to pay child support. The lawyer of the woman will request that the court swear out a warrant for the defaulter to appear in court and face the charge of failure to pay court dictated child support.
