My brother did a small amount of time in another state where he used to live and was released after serving the sentence. There were no prob...

Question

My brother did a small amount of time in another state where he used to live and was released after serving the sentence. There were no probation or restitution stipulations upon his release. He then moved to the state where my mother and I live and obtained a very good job. He has been here for a year now, and we learned today that there is an arrest warrant that was issued by the state that he was living in. He has been here for a year and has not been back there. We learned that a woman that he was involved with prior to his incarceration, told the police that he has been visiting her home harassing and threatening her and her now boyfriend. As the distance between the place he lives now and where he used to live is 330 miles away, and he does not have a drivers license or a vehicle, not to mention that the drive would take a minimum of five hours to make, it is safe to say that her claim can be disproved. The problem is the fact that there is a warrant, she is lying and my brother has children in that state and he is afraid to visit because of this issue. We would like to know how best to handle this situation and clear my brothers name. Sincerely, James Crowder

Answer

Your question doesn't make it clear whether your brother has an outstanding warrant in New York or in a different state, but you should know that each state and jurisdiction has their own ways of doing things and the best advice is to contact a criminal defense attorney in the jurisdiction in which the arrest warrant has been issued. There is also a difference between an arrest warrant and a bench warrant for failing to appear in court. In New York, a bench warrant can sometimes be vacated without the defendant returning to court or can be handled by a defendant in court without being arrested (Source: http://www.newyorkbenchwarrant.com/bench-warrant-faqs/) but an arrest warrant usually results in arrest upon identification within the jurisdiction.

Good luck!

Answer

If there has been a warrant issued, your brother already has a problem and needs an attorney. We can assume that he failed to appear in court, which resulted in the warrant being issued. If he didn't have notice, there may be some way to resolve the warrant issue. Either way, this is a serious matter that he needs to hire an attorney to help him with. I suggest that he locate an attorney in the State and County in which the warrant was issued, and that attorney can visit the Courthouse and see what is going on.