
Must be transferred from jail to the court for some proceeding.įirst, check to see if your county's courthouse provides an searchable online database for outstanding warrant information if so, just search the name and note any available details.Disobeys a court order that puts him or her in contempt of court.Doesn't respond to a citation, or a court subpoena or summons.Sometimes referred to a “capias" or an “alias warrant," a bench warrant authorizes a law enforcement officer to bring a specific person to court, generally whenever the person: Once the property is searched and seized, the law enforcement officer brings it to the judge named in the warrant. Such property can be very wide-ranging, to include: Search a specific person and/or his or her premises for property that could be related to a crime. Often, such warrants are based on a person known by sight but not name, or when a DNA profile is made but there currently is no DNA match.Īgain, upon agreeing to probable cause, a judge will issue a search warrant (sometimes called a “search and seizure warrant") authorizing a law enforcement officer to
When the accused person's name is unknown, the arrest warrant is called a “John Doe" warrant. Generally, the arrest warrant must include: Upon agreeing to probable cause, a judge will issue an arrest warrant authorizing a law enforcement officer toĪrrest a specific person based on a charge that they have committed a crime. However, the most common types of warrants areĪrrest warrants, search warrants, and bench warrants. Warrants serve various purposes, including tax collection and other financial transactions. NOTE: Most often, a judge must approve and sign a warrant before the law enforcement officer is authorized to act however, there are some exceptions to this rule-particularly when the situation makes it impractical to obtain a warrant. Sometimes, a police officer obtains a warrant and issues it immediately other times, the warrant becomes outstanding because the officer hasn't been able to find the person in question-he or she may not even be aware they have a warrant against them. reasonable grounds for making the arrest or property search). Generally, a law enforcement officer must present the judge with enough evidence to Read on to learn more about the different kinds of warrants, how you can find out whether you have one, and what to do if there is a warrant out for you.Ī warrant is a legal document issued by a judge or other judicial officer (such as a magistrate) thatĪuthorizes a law enforcement officer to perform an act related to justice administration-typically to: