Bench warrant
From Free net encyclopedia
A bench warrant is a variant of an arrest warrant which authorizes the immediate arrest on sight of the individual in question who is in contempt of court possibly for failing to appear at the appointed time and date for a scheduled court appearance.
Commonly (but not always) a person has intentionally avoided a court appearance due to the perceived consequences of being found guilty of a crime. If a person is currently awaiting trial on bail, their bail is revoked and a new (usually higher) bail amount is set for when they are re-arrested. If a person is found to have a bench warrant against them they are immediately taken into custody by authorities, rejailed, and a hearing is had during which a new bail is set and a new court appearance date scheduled. Often times if a person has been arrested on a bench warrant they are held without bail until such time as they can appear in court for whatever incident it was that they did not appear to address originally. Such a person is referred to as a "flight risk," meaning that there is a high likelihood that they will flee and not appear for their court date (for a second time).
Bench warrants are traditionally issued by sitting judges or magistrates.