The US Process of Issuing Arrest Warrants
The Fourth Amendment Warrant Requirement in Action
May 21, 2009
Pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution an arrest warrant may be issued under the following conditions:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons … against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the … the person … to be seized.”
The Arrest Warrant Process
The warrant process is initiated by the filing in court of a criminal complaint, information or grand jury indictment. These are charging documents that allege the commission of a crime.
Along with the charging documents is an affidavit of probable cause. The affidavit is sworn to by either a police officer or a prosecutor before a judge with jurisdiction where the alleged crime was committed. The affidavit describes some of the evidence against the individual named in the complaint.
If the judge is satisfied there is information to believe there was a crime and the named individual was involved, the warrant will issue. The judge also reviews the specificity identifying the individual including factors of name, date of birth or particular characteristics such as tattoos, height, weight, etc. This is to lower the possibility of the wrong person being arrested on the warrant.
Bench Warrants
In some circumstances a person has appeared in court or been arrested without a warrant and ordered to appear in court. If that individual fails to appear the judge may issue a bench warrant. A bench warrant can issue for persons in contempt of court because that person failed to appear for a mandated court appearance. This can happen in either criminal or civil court proceedings.
For persons on bail awaiting criminal trial when the non-appearance took place, a bench warrant may also be referred to as a bond forfeiture warrant. This is because the court often forfeits bail and sets a higher bail amount to be paid when the subject is re-arrested.
A person arrested on a bench warrant is taken before a judge and a hearing is held. A new bail amount and conditions are set and a new court appearance date is scheduled. The re-arrested subject may be held in custody without bail and considered a flight risk, likely to not appear if released a second time.
Geographic Limitations of Arrest Warrants
Warrants may issue for felonies, misdemeanors or for failing to appear on minor matters such as traffic tickets. There is time and expense associated with arresting, jailing, processing and transporting the person subject to arrest. Due to these considerations a judge may limit the geography of the warrant’s effectiveness.
For minor cases the warrant may be limited to the county interested in the matter. For misdemeanors the limitations may be to adjoining counties. For other crimes a warrant can be statewide. If the crime is deemed serious enough and the prosecuting authority is interested in finding the person and willing to bear the expenses of extradition, then the warrant will be in effect nationally.
If the subject of a limited warrant encounters law enforcement outside the warrant’s limitations he may not be arrested on the warrant.
Information about Arrest Warrants
When a warrant is issued in the United States, it is registered with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a division of the FBI. NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice information (i.e.- criminal record history information, fugitives, stolen properties, missing persons). It is available to Federal, state, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies and is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This resource may be accessed only by law enforcement and relied upon to arrest wanted individuals.
While there are many internet resources to obtain criminal arrest warrant information, county sheriffs in the United States maintain records of active warrants in their jurisdictions. Many sheriffs’ departments have now put these records online and are searchable. Some examples are the Will County, IL and Lee County, FL sheriffs’ departments.
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