Table of Contents
- Overview
- What Is The Difference Between Capias Warrants And Alias Warrants?
- What’s a Cash Bond?
- What’s a PR Bond?
- What’s a Surety Bond and How Can I Get One?
- What Happens If I Ignore a Traffic Ticket?
- What Happens If I Don’t Respond to Or Show Up to Court for a Traffic Ticket?
- What Are My Rights If I Fail To Show Up In Court?
- What’s the Fastest Way to Find Out If an Alias Warrant Was Issued in My Name?
What Is an Alias Warrant and How to Resolve It?
Table of Contents
- Overview
- What Is The Difference Between Capias Warrants And Alias Warrants?
- What’s a Cash Bond?
- What’s a PR Bond?
- What’s a Surety Bond and How Can I Get One?
- What Happens If I Ignore a Traffic Ticket?
- What Happens If I Don’t Respond to Or Show Up to Court for a Traffic Ticket?
- What Are My Rights If I Fail To Show Up In Court?
- What’s the Fastest Way to Find Out If an Alias Warrant Was Issued in My Name?
An Alias Warrant is a court order issued by the presiding judge in a case when the defendant hasn’t entered any plea and particularly if they failed to appear in court either on the initial hearing or on any other scheduled court date. Receiving and signing a citation is similar to promising you will be in court at that precise date and time. Failing to do so automatically adds another offense to your file called “Failure to Appear”. This second charge falls under the Penal Code. Therefore, you’ll be having two cases instead of one: the original case and the non-appearance one. An Alias Warrant issued by the court on your name authorizes police to arrest you and should be taken very seriously. However, you have four options to bond out of jail: PR Bond, Cash Bond, Attorney Bond, or Bail Bond.
What Is The Difference Between Capias Warrants And Alias Warrants?
Usually issued for misdemeanor charges, the major difference between the two is that a Capias Warrant is more serious, and, unlike an Alias Warrant, it cannot be removed by an Attorney Bond. Typically, if an attorney posts a bond on your behalf, the Alias Warrant can usually be lifted very easily. In this case, you avoid jail, and your case proceeds as usual. With a Capias Warrant, it’s more complicated, and you can end up being subjected to jail time as well as additional fees and fines.
Capias warrants are issued when you have entered a plea, requested, for instance, defensive driving or even worked out a payment plan with the court, but you failed to uphold your end of the deal. Therefore, an attorney bond will not suffice.
Fees Associated with Alias Warrants
An Alias Warrant typically incurs additional fees, such as:
- Warrant Fee: This is an administrative fee added once the warrant is issued.
- Failure to Appear Fee: An additional charge for not appearing in court.
- Court Costs: Any court-related costs incurred during the process.
How to Resolve an Alias Warrant?
You have several options to resolve an Alias Warrant:
- Cash Bond: A financial guarantee for your appearance at a scheduled court hearing.
- PR Bond: Granted by a judge based on your case and criminal history, with no immediate payment required.
- Surety Bond: Obtained through a licensed attorney or bail bondsman, clearing the warrant and notifying you of the next court hearing.
- Attorney Bond: An attorney posts a bond on your behalf to lift the Alias Warrant, typically avoiding jail time.
What’s a Cash Bond?
One way to deal with Alias warrants is clearance through a Cash Bond that can be filed straight at the Court Office. Once submitted, it’s a financial guarantee for the defendant’s appearance at a scheduled court hearing. Failing to attend it could end up in additional fees or even warrants.
What’s a PR Bond?
A Personal Recognizance Bond (PR Bond) is granted by a court judge after reviewing an individual’s case and criminal history and establishing that they don’t pose a public threat. The advantage of a PR Bond is that although a bail amount is set, no payment is due. Failure to follow through on your side of the agreement by leaving the state or missing court dates would trigger the bonded party’s obligation to pay the bail amount in full and could get them arrested.
What’s a Surety Bond and How Can I Get One?
Surety Bonds can be obtained through a licensed attorney or a bail bondsman. They have to contact the court and ask the correct bond information. Once they file it, the warrant is cleared, and a notification about the next court hearing is issued to the defendant and the surety. If the defendant fails to attend again, the warrant could be re-issued, and the court will start forfeiture proceedings against the surety.
? What Happens If I Ignore a Traffic Ticket?
If you have received a traffic ticket, you have to handle it. Ignoring it and failing to appear in court to plead your case means the judge presiding the case will order an Alias Warrant for your arrest.
? What Happens If I Don’t Respond to Or Show Up to Court for a Traffic Ticket?
If you receive a citation for a minor traffic offense such as running a red light, speeding, running a stop sign or not having a registration sticker or proof of a current inspection and you didn’t pay your ticket in due time, or you didn’t appear in court to plead your case, you risk being charged with “Failure to Appear” which is an additional charge. The court will also issue an alias warrant for your arrest.
? What Are My Rights If I Fail To Show Up In Court?
If you do not show up in court, you can post a Cash Bond, or you can hire a lawyer to get your warrant lifted through a Surety Bond, then allow them to review your case and try to protect your record through a deferred adjudication or a dismissal.
? What’s the Fastest Way to Find Out If an Alias Warrant Was Issued in My Name?
When you missed a court hearing where you should have answered to the charges filed against you due to personal or work issues, or you simply forgot, you most probably have an Alias Warrant with your name on it. You could be arrested at any second. Accessing the quickest way to know this would be critical. Our online warrant lookup tool will instantly show you any active warrants and will help you know all the details linked to it.