Attachment versus Warrant…. What is the difference?

Often times, you will hear people use the term warrant and attachment interchangeably. Both attachments and warrants are entered into law enforcement databases and are activated when your name is rung by the police. An attachment is normally entered into the system when you have failed to do something: you missed a court date, you did not pay your fines or fees by a certain time, you did not comply with the terms of probation, etc. An attachment is issued by a specific court and Judge after it is brought to that Court’s attention that you failed to comply with an order from the court. The attachment acts as the mechanism by which you can be arrested and brought back before the Court to answer for your failure to comply with the order.

While this sounds scary, the good news about attachments are that they can easily be lifted. With very few exceptions, I can go to Court for you and get the attachment recalled and handle the issue with the Court about the failure to comply. Sometimes, this may mean that the Court has added a contempt fee. This is a penalty added to your fines and fees for your failure to comply with the Court’s order. In many cases, I can get this fee waived. Police in some jurisdictions will not arrest you for an attachment from a traffic court or for failure to pay a fine. Instead, they’ll tell you to go to Court and handle the issue. If you hire me to help, I can usually substantially reduce any late fee, contempt, or other penalties, in addition to appearing on your behalf and keeping you from being arrested.

A warrant is normally put out directly by the Police Department after they have investigated a crime and determined that an arrest is necessary. The warrant is signed by a Judge and then entered into a police database that is searchable both within and outside of Louisiana. If there is an active warrant, then the Police Agency that has run your name must arrest you. The biggest difference between an attachment and a warrant is that once a warrant is entered into the system it almost always requires an arrest to clear the warrant. What this means for you is that you will be booked into jail and will be required to post a bond or go before a Judge to have your bail set.

If you believe you have a warrant out for your arrest, you should call me to discuss. While I cannot usually get a warrant recalled without having you booked into jail, we can coordinate the timing so that you spend as little time in jail as possible. Depending on your crime, I may be able to speak with a Judge to have you released or to set a reasonable bail amount that will be easier for your family to post. It is really important that you call me if you have a warrant because there are several steps that can be taken to minimize the unpleasantness of dealing with the process of being booked into jail. 

In either case if you have an attachment or a warrant you NEED TO CALL ME IMMEDIATELY. The longer you wait to deal with it, the harder and more inconvenient it’ll be to fix. I have worked tirelessly to develop relationships throughout the Greater New Orleans area that assist me in handling these problems. Don’t go at this problem alone call me to help you get out of the situation. Remember … When No One’s Carin’ Call McLaren! 504-300-8338