A person living outside South Carolina may find out that police want to speak with them, or that a warrant has been issued for an offense in South Carolina. Greg McCollum explains what that situation can look like and how fugitive warrants and governor’s warrants work. Both answers stress that it is urgent and needs immediate attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Warrants From Another State: Fugitive Warrants
If a person’s in another state and they find out there’s a warrant for them, where the police are looking for them for an offense where they would be arrested in South Carolina, they should really expect a very urgent situation. They should watch out because their life is about to get turned upside down.
There may not be a warrant, but they’ve discovered that the police want to speak to them about an incident that occurred. If the police in your jurisdiction, let’s say you live in New York or New Jersey or somewhere, and your local police officers up there are calling you, that’s a huge red flag because why would they do that?
It’s likely, especially if they say there’s an incident about something in South Carolina, or maybe a detective from South Carolina tried to call you, that may mean that there’s a warrant for you.
So, to have a warrant issued for you in another state can be a nightmare, and it’s something that requires immediate attention. So if someone were to discover this, should they hire an attorney? Absolutely. Unless there’s no way that they can afford to hire a lawyer, they absolutely should get a lawyer in the jurisdiction where they think they’re wanted to start working on that immediately.
What Is a Fugitive Warrant or a Governor’s Warrant?
A fugitive warrant and a governor’s warrant many times are the same thing. It just depends on whether or not it crosses state lines.
A governor’s warrant is also known as an extradition procedure, so if a person is accused of having committed a crime in South Carolina, and many times people are accused of things that happened in the past that they weren’t even aware of and don’t know there is a warrant, the next thing you know they find out that the local police where they live in another state are looking for them and they have a warrant for them.
That’s a fugitive warrant, a governor’s warrant, it’s all the same thing.
That person then, if that happens to you, you’re taken in custody. You could be in another state and you’re arrested, but you’re arrested for something that happened in South Carolina so you have to be transported back. Many people are unaware that, in your state, let’s say you’re in Virginia, you have a right to bond in Virginia. So you can post bond in Virginia and come back to South Carolina and turn yourself in again.
Even many lawyers are confused about this and don’t understand it, but if you have a warrant outstanding for you, a fugitive warrant or a governor’s warrant, you want to waive extradition if you’re in custody. That gives you the right to the bond hearing.
If you’re not in custody, then you want to surrender yourself, but in that situation you would surrender yourself here and post bond, and then the warrant in your home state ultimately would be dismissed because there would be no need for it. If you’re in this situation, it’s very urgent, it’s very important. You could spend a month in jail trying to get this straightened out.
Why Choose Greg McCollum for a Fugitive Warrant in South Carolina
A warrant tied to South Carolina can move quickly once someone learns about it, and the choices made early may affect what happens next. Greg McCollum brings 30 years of experience and a background as a former prosecutor to cases like these. That perspective can matter when a person is trying to understand their situation and decide how to respond.
If you have questions about fugitive warrants from another state, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.