Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

No, you can not simply pay and make the criminal charges go away.

To handle [clear] a warrant, you MUST turn yourself in to the issuing court, with or without an attorney. On felony charges, the defendant must be personally present at every court hearing and appearance. On misdemeanors and infractions, an attorney can appear in court without the defendant being present � which is safer and avoids immediately being taken into custody. Turning yourself in voluntarily will result in a better outcome than being brought in chains to court after arrest on the warrant. While this isn't a 'capital case', you now face potential jail and fines, so handle it right. You�ll try to negotiate a recall of the warrant[s] and seek bail reduction or OR release from any new failure to appear charges. You�ll try to negotiate a plea bargain on any �Failure to Appear� charge that caused the warrant. You�ll try to negotiate a dismissal, plea bargain or take to trial the outstanding charge that led to the warrant. Effective plea-bargaining by your attorney, using whatever legal defenses, facts and sympathies there may be, could possibly keep you out of jail/prison, or at least dramatically reduce it. Unless you're competent to effectively represent yourself in court against a professional prosecutor trying to put you in jail, most people hire an attorney who can.

If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me. I�ll be happy to help fight and get the best outcome possible, using whatever defenses and sympathies there may be.

As a Former Deputy District Attorney, I can tell you exactly how to handle it. Once you retain an experienced attorney, the lawyer should get the warrant recalled and then try to negotiate a civil compromise, which will result in a dismissal. I hope that helps.....David Wallin