Bench Warrant After a Charge You Were Told Was Dismissed

Attorney Answer

A warrant does not disappear because the charge was dropped — and "dropped" on the court's docket often means something different from what you were told. Pull the docket before you do anything else.

The statutes here do less work than you might hope, and it is worth being straight about that. Chapter 62, Article 1 of the Code governs how a criminal case begins: W. Va. Code § 62-1-1 defines a complaint as "a written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged," made upon oath, and W. Va. Code § 62-1-2 governs issuance of an arrest warrant on that complaint. Neither section addresses bench warrants issued for failure to appear. Which tells you where your answer is: in the court file, not in the code.

The explanations are usually mundane. Notice was mailed to an address you no longer use. One count was dismissed while another stayed alive. A hearing was reset and you were never told. Court costs or a fine went unpaid after the charge itself resolved. Or the case was never actually dismissed and someone told you it was. Each of those produces a different fix, and you cannot pick the right one without seeing what the docket says.

What you should not do is guess, and what you especially should not do is go ask in person. A bench warrant is served on contact.

What you can do

1. Call — do not visit — the magistrate court clerk in the county where you were charged. Give your name and date of birth, ask for the case number, and ask for the docket entries: the disposition of each count, and the entry showing when and why the warrant issued. 2. Also check the circuit clerk in that county, and any municipal court if the original citation came from a city officer. A warrant can sit in a different court from the one you remember. 3. If there is a dismissal order, get a certified copy of it. That single document is often the whole answer. 4. Do not go to the courthouse, the sheriff's office, or the police department to sort this out in person. 5. Retain a West Virginia criminal defense attorney and have him move the issuing court to recall or quash the warrant. Where the charge really was dismissed, or where notice was never properly sent to you, that motion is frequently resolved quickly and without an arrest. 6. If the warrant stands, have the attorney arrange a surrender time and address bond in advance — rather than being taken into custody at work or on a traffic stop, possibly over a weekend. 7. Once resolved, file a written change of address with the court and keep the receipt. Missed notice is the most common way this happens twice.