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Warrants in Texas: What You Need to Know

On Behalf of | Sep 16, 2019 | Arrest Warrants, Bench Warrants

Is there a warrant for your arrest? If so, it’s important that you have a basic understanding of what they are so you can take immediate action to resolve the situation. In Texas, the court can issue an arrest warrant when:

  • You fail to appear in court
  • You fail to respond to a ticket within 11 days
  • You fail to pay a fine that a judge assessed
  • You fail to complete the Driving Safety Course requirements and you do
    not appear to have a good reason
  • You violate a term of your probation and your probation is revoked
  • You default on a payment arrangement
  • You receive a community service order and you fail to comply with it
  • You do not comply with a court order, such as a restraining order or another
    court order

Failure to Appear or Make a Payment

If you fail to appear in court at a court hearing, or if you fail to pay a court-ordered fee or fine and you do not pay it when you’re supposed to, or if you fail to make a scheduled payment on a payment plan that you’re on, or if you fail to follow any other court order, a warrant can be issued for your arrest. Whenever a judge specifies something you should be doing and you fail to do it, you can be arrested.

Arrest warrants are issued when a defendant receives a court date or citation and they fail to appear in court at the date and time they’re supposed to. Or, when the defendant fails to resolve their court case ahead of the scheduled court date.

Do Warrants Extend Beyond County Lines?

Under Title 1, Chapter 15, Article 15.06 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure it reads:

“A warrant of arrest, issued by any county or district clerk, or by any magistrate (except mayors of an incorporated city or town), shall extend to any part of the State; and any peace officer to whom said warrant is directed, or into whose hands the same has been transferred, shall be authorized to execute the same in any county in this State.”

Under Article 15.16(a), it says that the officer or person executing the warrant shall, without unnecessary delay, take the person before the magistrate who issued the arrest warrant if the magistrate is in the same county where the arrest took place. However, if the arrest occurred in a different county, the person will be taken before a judge in the same county where the arrest occurred without unnecessary delay.

If there is a warrant for your arrest, contact Attorney Barrett immediately at (214) 307-8667.