Probation Violations & Warrants
Probation violation hearings, bench warrants for missed court dates, and outstanding arrest warrants in the 19th District Court and across Wayne County.
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The practice
LegalSolv’s criminal defense attorneys in Dearborn, Michigan handle probation violation hearings, bench warrants, and outstanding arrest warrants in the 19th District Court, the 36th District Court in Detroit, the Wayne County Circuit Court, and the other district courts across Wayne County, in English and Arabic.
These cases share a feature: the client already has a case, and the question is how much worse it is about to get. A probation violation can turn a probation sentence into the jail or prison sentence the judge chose not to impose the first time. A warrant turns every traffic stop into an arrest. Both are easier to handle before the next police contact than after it.
Probation violations
Michigan probation runs on conditions: reporting, testing, fees, classes, no new offenses, no contact with certain people. A violation is alleged by the probation department, and under MCL 771.4 the court gives written notice, holds an arraignment on the violation, and then a hearing where the prosecutor must prove it by a preponderance of the evidence. There is no jury. If a violation is found, the judge can continue probation, add conditions, extend it, or revoke it and impose any sentence that was available at the original sentencing.
Michigan’s 2021 probation reforms changed the landscape for technical violations, the ones that are not new crimes. Jail for a technical violation is generally capped at 15 days for a first violation, 30 for a second, and 45 for a third, with revocation available only after repeated violations, subject to exceptions for certain offenses and conduct. Probation terms were shortened as well, to a general maximum of two years for a misdemeanor and three for a felony. A client who was told they face “the full sentence” for a missed class is often facing something much smaller, and the hearing is where that gets established.
A new criminal charge while on probation is the serious case. It is a violation on its own, it is prosecuted as a new case, and the two move on different standards of proof. We handle both together, because a plea in the new case decides the violation, and the order in which the two are resolved matters.
Bench warrants and missed court dates
A missed court date produces a bench warrant for failure to appear, and in the Wayne County district courts the warrant sits until the person appears or is picked up. If the missed date was on a traffic or misdemeanor matter, the court notifies the Secretary of State, which suspends the driver’s license until the court clears the failure to appear, under MCL 257.321a. That is how a single missed hearing on a ticket turns into a driving while license suspended charge months later.
The way out is a planned appearance. In most courts, including the 19th District Court, counsel can arrange a date for a voluntary appearance, and the judge recalls the warrant and resets the case, often on the same bond. A person who walks in with an attorney and an explanation is treated differently from a person brought in from a traffic stop, and the bond decision usually shows it.
Outstanding arrest warrants
An arrest warrant on a new charge is different from a bench warrant. It means a complaint has been signed and the case is waiting for an arraignment. Finding out whether a warrant exists, and what it is for, is the first step; walking into a police station to ask without counsel can end in an arrest with no plan for bond. We confirm the warrant with the court, arrange a surrender or a walk-in arraignment at a time that lets us argue bond, and in many cases have the client out the same day. The matter then proceeds like any other case, with the first appearance already behind us on good terms.
Where Wayne County violations and warrants are handled
Probation violations are heard by the court that imposed the sentence: the district court for misdemeanors, the Wayne County Circuit Court for felonies. Bench warrants are recalled by the court that issued them. Dearborn matters run through the 19th District Court, Detroit through the 36th District Court, which carries the largest warrant volume in the state, and Dearborn Heights through the 20th. Our office is minutes from the 19th, and the underlying charges, whether OWI, drug possession, or anything else our criminal defense attorneys in Dearborn handle, stay with the same attorney.
How we handle it
Tell us the court, the case number if you have it, and what happened. We confirm the status with the court, usually the same day, and set a plan: a voluntary appearance date for a warrant, or an evidence review and hearing strategy for a violation. The same attorney handles it through resolution.
This is a focused part of our criminal defense practice. Call (313) 425-5555 to talk through your situation.
Probation & Warrants FAQ
You receive written notice of the alleged violation, you are arraigned on it, and the court holds a hearing where the prosecutor has to prove the violation by a preponderance of the evidence, a lower standard than at trial, and there is no jury. If the judge finds a violation, the options run from continuing probation unchanged, to adding conditions, to revoking probation and imposing any sentence that was available at the original sentencing. A violation hearing is a real hearing with evidence and witnesses, and it can be won.
A violation of a condition of probation that is not a new crime: a missed appointment, a positive test, an unpaid fee, a missed class. Michigan's 2021 probation reforms limit the jail a court can impose for technical violations, generally up to 15 days for a first, 30 for a second, and 45 for a third, with revocation on the table only after that, subject to exceptions. A new criminal charge while on probation is treated differently and can support revocation on its own.
The court issues a bench warrant for failure to appear. Any police contact after that, including a traffic stop, can end in an arrest and a trip to the court's holding cell until you can be arraigned. If the missed date was on a traffic or misdemeanor matter, the court also notifies the Secretary of State, which suspends your driver's license until the court clears the failure to appear. The way out is to appear, ideally with counsel and a plan, before the warrant finds you.
Usually. In most Wayne County district courts, counsel can arrange a date for you to appear voluntarily, and the judge will recall the warrant and reset the case, often with the same bond. Some courts allow the attorney to file a motion to set aside the warrant. The courts treat a voluntary appearance very differently from an arrest, and the bond decision usually reflects that.
Michigan's statewide court case search and the individual court's records show pending cases and, in many courts, outstanding warrants. We check with the court directly, confirm whether the warrant is a bench warrant for a missed date or an arrest warrant on a new charge, and arrange the appearance. Walking into a police station to ask about a warrant without counsel can end with an arrest on the spot and no plan for bond.
It can delay it. Waiting periods under Michigan's Clean Slate law run from the completion of the sentence, including probation, so a violation that extends or revokes probation pushes the eligibility date back. A new conviction during the waiting period resets it. Resolving a violation without a new conviction protects the timeline.
Criminal Defense Across Metro Detroit
We represent criminal defense clients throughout Wayne County from our Dearborn office.
Visit Our Dearborn Office
We represent probation & warrants clients throughout Wayne County and Metro Detroit from our Dearborn office.
- Address 22226 Garrison St
Dearborn, MI 48124 - Phone (313) 425-5555
- Hours Mon - Fri: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
- Languages English & Arabic
Warrant or violation notice? Deal with it on your terms, not at a traffic stop.
A warrant does not go away. A planned appearance with counsel is a very different day than an arrest.