QUEENS, NY BENCH WARRANTS
One of the worst things that a person who is charged with a crime can do is fail to appear in court when required to do so. The issuance of a bench warrant has many negative effects such as;
1)    its later permanent appearance on a person’s arrest record (which usually results in either a denial of bail or the setting of bail in an amount higher than it would otherwise be ) ;
2)Â Â Â Â the forfeiture of cash bail or the appearance bond previously posted on behalf of the client [1];
3)Â Â Â Â the likelihood of a subsequent charge of Bail Jumping ;
4)Â Â Â Â the institution of rendition or extradition proceedings if the client is apprehended or detained in another state ;
5)Â Â Â Â the possibility of a negative inference being drawn ( based upon a consciousness of guilt argument) by a jury at the ultimate trial of the initial criminal case ; and
6)    the automatic establishment of probable cause to stop , arrest and search the individual who is the subject of the bench warrant ( which sometimes spillsover in a negative fashion to his or her companions at the time of the ultimate stop) [2] .
It is important to remember that a person can be charged with Bail Jumping in New York if he or she does not appear in court within 30 days of the date of their last required court appearance . The fact that one was previously released on their own recognizance without having to post bail is not a defense to a subsequent Bail Jumping charge .
The prosecution usually welcomes the opportunity to charge a defendant with Bail Jumping as it gives them extra leverage in prosecuting the pending criminal case (which might be a weak case to begin with). It is for this reason alone that the non-appearance in court is generally an extremely unwise and bad strategic decision as it usually aggravates the existing situation.
Victor Knapp , Esq. has extensive experience in handling charges including Bail Jumping , vacating and expunging bench warrants , rendition and extradition matters as well as bail remission applications . It is usually better to address these matters sooner than later .
[1] In some cases , an application for forgiveness of the forfeiture or “remission of forfeiture†can be made to the Supreme Court to obtain relief from the bail forfeiture .
[2] In fact , many persons who fail to appear in court when required to do so ( “abscondersâ€) are listed not only in law enforcement databases but in such publicly circulated magazines such as The Long Island Fugitive Finder with invitations to the public to call Crime Stopper telephone numbers to report the location of an absconder .
CLICK NOW FOR YOUR CASE EVALUATION
OR CALL 24 HOURS/7 DAYS 718-263-9000
