Turning Yourself In After An Arrest Warrant Does Not Mean Surrendering To Your Fate

In action movies, when a court issues a warrant for the arrest of a defendant, the action usually picks up.  The defendant knows that he is only one traffic stop or only one chance encounter with a police officer in a mall away from getting hauled off to jail.  Therefore, the defendant tries everything to evade arrest.  He drives out of state under cover of darkness.  He changes his hairstyle and manner of dress in order to look less like the person that police think they are looking for.  All of this is great for plot development, but if you do it in real life, it will only make your legal problems worse.  If there is a warrant out for your arrest, the best thing you can do is to turn yourself in.  Far from indicating that you have resigned yourself to a fate that involves incarceration, turning yourself in when you are being accused of a crime shows that you understand your rights and are participating in the process of justice.  For advice about when and how to turn yourself in when you are wanted on suspicion of a crime, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.

How Do You Know When You Should Turn Yourself In?

If a court has issued a warrant for your arrest, you should turn yourself in at a police station in the county that issued the warrant.  The court only issues arrest warrants if the police have shown that there is probable cause for arresting you on suspicion of a crime.  To find out about which arrest warrants are active in your county, contact the local police station or sheriff’s office.  In Florida, all arrest warrants are a matter of public record; Florida does not have pocket warrants.

Getting Yourself In Order Before You Enter the Police Station

There is a vast chasm between probable cause for arresting someone and guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and an arrest warrant only indicates the former.  When you turn yourself in, consider that, when the court issues a warrant for your arrest, you can’t go around the county jail, but you can go through it.  In other words, your goal should be to get your ducks in a row so that you can walk into the police station, fulfill your obligation to respond to the arrest warrant, and walk back out again.

To do this, you should start by contacting a criminal defense lawyer.  Then find out as much as you can about the arrest warrant.  The more you know about what crime you are being accused of, the sooner you can start preparing your defenses.  You should also contact a bail bond company so that you can prepare to post bail.

Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County.  Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

answers.uslegal.com/criminal/search-and-seizure/2334/