Clients and some attorneys confuse a bench warrant with an arrest warrant. Any time a defendant fails to appear in court pursuant to a summons, a bench warrant will be issued for his or her arrest. The court will also send a notice to the client's last known address, advising the defendant of the bench warrant. Responsible clients who receive this notice often come to court and turn themselves in (usually explaining that they mixed up their dates, forgot about the court date, or could not get transportation to court).
This is referred to as a “walk-in” arraignment, in reference to their simply “walking in” to court to be arraigned. If a client of mine has a bench warrant, I immediately contact the court issuing the warrant to arrange to turn my client in and present him or her to the court. I treat the procedure just as you would an arraignment on an arrest warrant, but be prepared to discuss the reason why your client failed to appear in the first place. Any arraigning magistrate will want to know what caused your client to fail to come to court and will use this information in setting any bond.