What Should You Do if You Have a Warrant for Your Arrest

In this video, I'm gonna talk about what you should do if you have a warrant for your arrest. As a defense attorney, I often get calls from people who just found out they've been charged in a new case and now have a warrant for their arrest. Finding out you have a warrant for your arrest can be a scary thing and you may not know what to do. So about me, my name is Nathan Vining. I'm a defense attorney and I represent individuals in criminal defense cases throughout the state of Indiana. By the end of this video, you should know more about what you should do if you have a warrant for your arrest.

1. See if Bail Has Been Set

So the first thing you should do is go online and look and see if bail's been set. This information could be found at mycase.in.gov. If you have enough to cover the bail amount, you should contact your county jail, or clerk, and see where you need to go to post bond.

2. Surrender

If you're unable to post bond, you may need to surrender yourself an outstanding warrant. It's something I have to tell everyone. If you have a warrant you do need to surrender, and generally, it's better to make arrangements to surrender yourself rather than be taken into custody. For instance, maybe you're in a neighboring county, and you get picked up in the county where the case isn't pending, and they have to transfer you, which can take some time.

3. Modify Bail

You also have a couple other options. If the bail amount's too high, you can hire an attorney to modify bail. There's situations where the bail can be lowered, or the type of bond can be modified. For instance, in Indiana, we have surety bonds and PR bonds. With a surety bond, you hire a bondsman. You usually pay about 10% of the bail amount, and with a PR bond, the court allows a family member to pay 10% of the bail amount.

4. Recall Warrant

You may also have some other options. Depending on the facts and the level of your case, you may be able to file a motion to recall the warrant and get a court date set in due course. This is often up to the discretion of the judge, but when the warrant's recalled it goes away and you can appear in the court on your own.

So here are a few things you should do if you find out you have a warrant for your arrest and ultimately you should just surrender yourself, or come up with a plan to lower bail, or recall the warrant. Again, my name's Nathan Vining. You should take some time to follow me on social media. You can learn more about other criminal defense matters. And if you have more questions, feel free to call me or text me at the number that follows.