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Hello!just found out after five years i had a small claims bench warrant for me. this is a claim that I filed as a petitioner for property damages and unpaid utility services at a home I was lease optioning, the person living there was sent to prison for Truck hyjacking,any way the mother stepped in to try to keep the property but fell behind quickly and she had some of her family living there without utilitys, i went to evict them and they treatened my life if i did,so at the same time I was evicting them i had a small claims to recoup back trash fees 3+years that i had to pay plus abatement fees.So i did not want any more contact with them that I forgoed the small claims court thinking they would drop the case, well anyway doc says i was there when i was not,not sure how that happend? the judge found in favor of defendent and granted them 5000.00 in damages.only now five years later did I find out about this judgement and bench warrant after checking
a seat belt violation for my son. how do I clear up this warrant and to avoid this family how do I pay the judgement witout paying penaltys? by the way when they left they did over 60k in damages,just trashed the house.
Thank you!

Submitted: 263 days and 2 hours ago.

Category: Legal

Value: $15

Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION

san bernrdino, California

Already Tried:
calling courts.This is the question:Hello!just found out after five years i had a small claims bench warrant for me. this is a claim that I filed as a petitioner for property damages and unpaid utility services at a home I was lease optioning, the person living there was sent to prison for Truck hyjacking,any way the mother stepped in to try to keep the property but fell behind quickly and she had some of her family living there without utilitys, i went to evict them and they treatened my life if i did,so at the same time I was evicting them i had a small claims to recoup back trash fees 3+years that i had to pay plus abatement fees.So i did not want any more contact with them that I forgoed the small claims court thinking they would drop the case, well anyway doc says i was there when i was not,not sure how that happend? the judge found in favor of defendent and granted them 5000.00 in damages.only now five years later did I find out about this judgement and bench warrant after checking
a seat belt violation for my son. how do I clear up this warrant and to avoid this family how do I pay the judgement witout paying penaltys? by the way when they left they did over 60k in damages,just trashed the house.
Thank you!

Posted by Benjamin M. Burt, Jr., Esq. 263 days and 2 hours ago.

Answer

Hello and thanks so much for choosing this forum to pose your important legal question. I will do my best to give you some honest and accurate guidance as I answer your question.

I am a licensed attorney, and I will be glad to try and answer your question. I hope that the following information will be helpful to you, but please just write back if you have any follow-up questions or need clarification on anything after reviewing the following information. I am sorry for your situation, and I hope that everything gets resolved appropriately for you in these matters.
The most pressing issue here is the matter of the bench warrant. This will haunt you until it is fulfilled. It will not expire, so that means that you are subject to arrest for any traffic stop or other encounter with law enforcement. The very best course of action is to first confer with a local criminal defense attorney. Only thereafter will you need to surrender yourself to law enforcement. Should you encounter the police prior to speaking with counsel, I would caution you to know your rights and assert them. Forgery is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, so it is really crucial that you remain silent, avoid self-incrimination, and have qualified representation.
The second matter, the civil issue of the judgment, will need to be examined by a litigation attorney. This will be very much an uphill battle, however, since in California you have 30 days to file an appeal after the judge makes a decision. If the decision was mailed to you, you have 30 days from the day it was mailed. Your remedy is likely going to require seeking redress from the superior court, but I would not even cross that bridge until you have first taken care of the criminal case. The bottom line is the only way to clear up the warrant is through voluntary surrender, and the only way to pay the judgment without penalties is by securing the appropriate court order.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If we can be of any further assistance please free to use our service again. Best wishes for a successful outcome.
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263 days and 2 hours ago.

Reply

yes i called the courts and they said i could not be arrested or picked up for a civil bench warrant i would be given a to appear date instead . as far as forgery i id not say anything about that i said i forgo the hearing,i think that the courts did something by saying i was at the hearing when i was not.

263 days and 2 hours ago.

Reply

yes i called the courts and they said i could not be arrested or picked up for a civil bench warrant i would be given a to appear date instead . as far as forgery i did not say anything about that ,i said i forgo the hearing,i think that the courts did something by wrong saying i was at the hearing when i was not

Answer

Hello there and thanks for writing back. I will be glad to comment further.

I commend you for wanting to do the right thing here. I apologize for any confusion -- I should have picked up from your initial post that this was a civil bench warrant. I am glad to hear that the court will provide you with an appearance date. I would still be cautious, in light of how this sort of bench warrant works under the California Code of Civil Procedure. It would be a good idea to take a look at the Civil Bench Warrant Instructions if you have not already done so. It is great that you have received some reassurance, but technically a Bench Warrant issued pursuant to a civil case does command arrest so I would still be cautious.

In some cases, a criminal defense attorney may be able to recall the bench warrant (remove it from the system) without you being present. This depends upon the particulars of the charge (especially the nature of the offense -- felony or misdemeanor, and the date of the warrant), so it would be most prudent to speak with local counsel without delay. Your attorney would definitely want to review the docket entries and court records, especially in light of the notation that you were present when in fact you were not in appearance.

I hope this is of some more help and that things work out for you appropriately.

Take care and thanks again for using JustAnswer®.

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Expert:	Benjamin M. Burt, Jr., Esq.
Pos. Feedback:	99.4 %
Answered:	3/4/2009

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