THE DA AND FILING CHARGES

In Texas and most states, the District Attorney is the one who makes the decision whether to charge a person with a crime. Usually this is done based upon a Peace Officer’s sworn complaint based upon either the Officer’s personal knowledge or a citizen’s report. On occasion the District Attorney’s office will take a charge directly based upon a citizen’s complaint to their office. In larger jurisdictions, an Assistant D.A. is on call twenty-four hours a day to accept charges filed by either police officers on the citizen’s behalf or directly by the citizen themselves. In smaller jurisdictions this process may take a longer period of time. If you wish to file charges for a criminal offense, you should either contact a peace officer to make a report and/or compliant or contact the District Attorney’s office for the county in which the offense occurred.
 

WARRANTS

If you have reason to believe that a warrant for your arrest has been issued, you can call our office or a professional bondsman and ask that your information be run through the local jurisdiction’s computer to verify the existence of the a warrant. We provide this service for free, as do most reputable bonding companies. You may do this yourself, by contacting the Sheriff’s Department of that county to verify if a warrant exists. Your inquiry will not trigger any action that would not otherwise occur. The threat of arrest and the steps needed to clear the warrant should be your main concern.

If you believe a federal warrant has been issued, you should seek the advice of a reputable criminal law attorney to discuss your options. An attorney will be better equipped to access that information, as well as assist you in ultimately clearing the warrant with as little inconvenience as possible, without jeopardizing your rights.

If a warrant has been issued and a bond has already been set, you may post the bond in accordance with the instructions in the ARREST & BAIL section.