A bench warrant is issued by a judge when a defendant fails to appear for a hearing or abide by a court order. Bench warrants allow the police to arrest the defendant upon their next encounter, often at routine traffic stops. Leaving New Jersey does not mean you are beyond a bench warrant’s reach.
New Jersey bench warrants will follow you across state lines. If you encounter the police in another state, they may discover the warrant and place you under arrest. At that point, you will be extradited to New Jersey. If you believe you have a bench warrant out in your name, contact an attorney about getting it cleared before you are arrested.
Our Atlantic City criminal defense lawyers can help you clear a bench warrant before you leave New Jersey. Call the Law Offices of John J. Zarych at (609) 616-4956 for a free case review.
Do New Jersey Bench Warrants Show Up in Other States?
A bench warrant in New Jersey can show up in other states, depending on who is checking. For example, if you show up for court or encounter the police in another state, they might be alerted to your bench warrant. Our Atlantic City criminal defense lawyers can help you clear your bench warrant before you leave the state.
Bench warrants may be logged in interstate databases that police officers across states have access to. When you encounter an officer, they might run your information through one of these systems and discover the bench warrant. The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is one such database that police officers in every state can access. The NCIC is how many bench warrants are discovered out of state.
Whether or not a bench warrant shows up in another state depends on who is looking and what they are looking for. For example, a police officer certainly has access to information about New Jersey bench warrants, but if they decide not to run a check, they will not find the warrant.
Bench warrants never expire and will remain active until they are executed or cleared. Sometimes people are surprised when they are arrested in another state on a New Jersey bench warrant from years and years ago.
Can Police Officers in Other States Arrest You on a New Jersey Bench Warrant?
Once a police officer in another state discovers your New Jersey bench warrant, they can arrest you. Bench warrants are not typically prioritized by law enforcement, and they ordinarily do not conduct an immediate search for the defendant after a bench warrant is issued. An arrest usually occurs whenever the defendant happens to next encounter the police. This is why arrests for bench warrants often happen during traffic stops.
Depending on the nature of your bench warrant, the police might decide to warn you about the warrant and let you go. Law enforcement in other states might not want to spend their resources on minor issues, like missing a hearing concerning a traffic citation. However, if your bench warrant is related to serious felonies, the police will probably arrest you.
Even so, you should never assume you will not be arrested for a minor bench warrant. Contact our Sea Isle criminal defense lawyers about clearing your warrant as soon as possible.
What Happens When You Are Arrested on a New Jersey Bench Warrant in Another State?
If you are arrested in another state for a criminal matter in New Jersey, you must be extradited to New Jersey. Extradition is a legal process in which a defendant is transported from one state to another to answer certain legal matters. Extradition requires the cooperation of multiple state agencies across different states. As such, an extradition request is more likely when the defendant is wanted for serious felonies. Contact our New Jersey criminal defense attorneys immediately if you face extradition.
According to N.J.S.A. § 2A:160-31, a defendant may be extradited to New Jersey upon a warrant issued by the governor. Before the governor demands extradition, a prosecutor, parole board, or prison warden must present an application for requisition. If you are about to be extradited to New Jersey, contact our New Jersey criminal defense attorneys for help.
The person submitting the request for requisition depends on why the request is being submitted in the first place. Prosecutors handle the situation where the defendant is needed in New Jersey to stand trial or answer for criminal charges. If the defendant violated their probation or parole, the probation or parole board would send the request. A prison warden would submit a request to extradite an escaped prisoner.
How Do I Clear a New Jersey Bench Warrant?
The best way to handle a bench warrant is to clear it before being arrested. You should contact an attorney about your warrant as soon as possible. Our Wildwood, NJ criminal defense lawyers are prepared to help you clear your warrant so you can get back to your normal life.
If you are unsure whether you have a bench warrant, our lawyers can check for you. Depending on why the bench warrant was issued, we might be able to clear it by contacting the relevant court. If you missed a hearing, thus triggering a bench warrant, rescheduling the hearing with the court might be enough to clear the warrant.
If the warrant is for a probation violation or jumping bail, you might have to be taken into custody. If that is the case, you should have an attorney to protect your rights and figure out your next legal step.
Call Our New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorneys for Advice
If you have a bench warrant issued in your name and you do not know what to do, our Haddonfield criminal defense lawyers can help you clear the bench warrant. Call the Law Offices of John J. Zarych at (609) 616-4956 for a free initial case evaluation.
