I have bench warrants for my arrest. Do theses warrants have statute of limitations?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

I have bench warrants for my arrest. Do theses warrants have statute of limitations?

I have 2 cases dating back to 2004 and 2005. With the first one, it was for driving with a suspended license, no insurance, and no registration. With the second, it was a dwi and leaving the scene (I hit a parked car). On the first one, I made payment arrangements on the tickets but never paid. On the second case, I never went to court. Bench warrants have now been issued. Do bench warrants have a statute of limitations? What is my best step to clear up this mess?

Asked on March 22, 2009 under Criminal Law, Texas

Answers:

S.B.A., Member, California and Texas Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

NO, there's no statute of limitations on the warrants.

Your first case is a probation violation; on the second case, you have an 'open' DUI (one which you can still take to trial) and they can add another charge to that case, for your failure to appear.

You can clean this up by hiring an attorney to accompany you to court. The attorney can try to contact the Prosecutor, beforehand, and attempt to negotiate a plea bargain (many Prosecutors will simply say they will negotiate after you turn yourself in).

It's unlikely the court will grant bail, as you failed to appear for court previously, so expect to spend some time in jail until your attorney can negotiate a plea bargain or until final resolution of your case (on your probation violation, you have already been convicted and the standard of proof of a probation violation is very low, so you will probably have to do time on that, even if you aren't convicted of the DUI).

Any time you spend in jail pre-sentence, should be credited to your sentence. Your attorney should try to get concurrent sentences (all time served is credited to both cases).


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption