WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN FACING A PENDING ARREST WARRANT FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA

What should you do if you find that there's a pending arrest warrant for you from the State of Florida? First, it's important to find out the crime, the date of the crime and significant facts about the crime as attested in the arrest warrant. Second, it's necessary to establish whether the crime did in fact take place. Finally it's imperative to determine if the State of Florida is capable of pursuing the charge.

To find out why the arrest warrant was issued you'll need to get hold of the original charging document. If the case was filed over ten years ago, then the Pinellas County Clerks office will have the original charging document known as the information as well as the actual arrest warrant on microfilm. It may be that you were given a summons to appear many years ago while on vacation in Florida and never got around to taking care of the matter. Or it may be that a grocery store claims that twenty years ago you wrote a worthless check for thirty dollars worth of food, but that in the intervening years you've moved to another state. 

Once specific information within the arrest warrant is found, then the accused can formulate whatever defenses may be available to the accusation. Was the defendant even in Florida when the crime occurred? Or in a worthless check case, was the check in fact actually written by the accused? If the check was forged then evidence would need to be gathered in defense. 

In many older cases witnesses may no longer be available or evidence may have grown stale by the time the arrest warrant is actually served. If the State of Florida is unable to meet its burden of proving the crime beyond a reasonable doubt then this weakness should be exploited by the defense to have the case reduced or dismissed.

If you find that there is an active arrest warrant in your name remember that there are ways to turn yourself in on the arrest warrant without having to spend more than a few hours in jail. To avoid spending time in prison it's imperative to find a lawyer who is well versed in criminal law to help you navigate toward the best possible resolution of the search warrant.