Generally, it means you did not complete something (community service hours, alcohol/drug treatment, DUI Victims Panel, work crew, jail) or did something new that you were not supposed to do. (i.e. new conviction, arrest, driving without license & insurance) You may have violated the conditions of your DUI or Reckless/Negligent Driving probation. The sentencing Court would have set conditions of your probation such as the following at Sentencing – Complete an alcohol/drug evaluation & follow recommendation, pay all Court fines/costs, report to probation, not drive a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance, no driving with breath or blood alcohol concentration of .08 or greater, no refusal of alcohol test of breath /blood upon reasonable request of a law enforcement, no new criminal violations of law, no alcohol or drug related infractions, ignition interlock device requirements per Washington DOL.

The most common DUI probation violations: new criminal law violations, failure to do treatment, failure to do victims panel, failure to report to probation, driving without a valid license & insurance and positive UA’s, among many others. Check the Court’s paperwork (Judgment & Sentence) you received at your final Sentencing Court Hearing in Seattle Municipal Court to see whether you complied with and completed everything.

Day reporting is basically an alternative to Jail for people who do not have the money to post bail, or who have had a poor history of compliance with the Court’s Conditions. (i.e. no consumption alcohol, not doing treatment, not reporting to probation etc.) This allows defendants to report daily to Seattle Municipal’s D ay Reporting Program (2nd floor of Justice Center) until their court case or sentence is complete. While on day reporting, they can also go about their daily routine of work, treatment or whatnot. In all DUI cases, you will be given a breath test when you report. Day reporting is Monday-Friday. Typically, these are repeat offender DUI cases.

In Seattle Municipal Court if the Warrant amount is less than $10,000.00 you can go to the first floor of the Seattle Justice Center, 600 Fifth Ave and set a hearing. (you will see clerk windows after security on right) You will not usually be taken into custody by the Court. However, the bench warrant will stay in place until the warrant quash hearing is held. If the Judge made the warrant pr’able (will say ” no PR” if applicable) the court clerk can just quash (cancel) it at the window and set the next hearing for your case. (what type of hearing – {arraignment, pre-trial, sentencing, review/revocation} will depend on what stage of the case you were at when you missed your Court appearance) Obviously, the above information is subject to change at any time without notice.

You will be required to have SR-22 Insurance for 3 years on a Physical Control conviction in Washington State. This is also the same for DUI and Reckless Driving convictions.

In Seattle Municipal Court, if the Warrant amount is less than $10,000 you can go to the first floor of the Seattle Justice Center, 600 Fifth Ave and set a hearing. (you will see clerk windows after security on right)

You will not usually be taken into custody by the Court. However, the bench warrant will stay in place until the warrant quash hearing is held. If the Judge made the warrant pr’able (will say ” no PR” if applicable) the court clerk can just quash (cancel) it at the window and set the next hearing for your case. (what type of hearing – {arraignment, pre-trial, sentencing, review/revocation} will depend on what stage of the case you were at when you missed your Court appearance)

If Warrant is $10,000 or more you will have to post bail or turn yourself in. The other option is to have an attorney set an “add-on” for a warrant quash hearing. I have done many of these in Seattle Municipal Court. You would then show up for the hearing and the attorney would ask the Court to quash the warrant. (remember, the Court could still maintain some sort of bail – depending on the circumstances of your FTA) I have set these hearings as little as 48 hours in advance. Caveat: the above procedures are always subject to change without notice. It is always more preferable to contact an experienced attorney first.