If there is a chance that you may have an active warrant in your name, do not procrastinate on finding out the truth. In the United States, there are over 2 million active warrants on any given day. It is not rare for defendants to be unaware that they have a warrant for their arrest. Don’t live in uncertainty about it; knowing in advance can give you an advantage. If you do not know if there are active warrants for your arrest, here is what you should do.
What To Know About Arrest Warrants
When you have criminal allegations, a judge or magistrate issues an arrest warrant. It provides law enforcement agencies with the authority to arrest and detain a person accused of a crime. Judges only issue warrants if they have been shown probable cause for the defendant’s arrest.
The Fourth Amendment protects you and other defendants. The Amendment states that you cannot be arrested arbitrarily or unlawfully. Warrants have to be issued with valid reasons. A warrant also serves as a way to inform you of the charges against you. If you do have an active warrant, it may be one of four types.
Bench Warrants
If you have a bench warrant issued against you, this doesn’t mean that you’re suspected of committing a crime. Instead, judges issue bench warrants when a person doesn’t show up for court on an assigned date, doesn’t pay a ticket or fine, or refuses to follow a court order. Bench warrants give the police permission to arrest you.
Arrest Warrants
Arrest warrants are issued if there is enough evidence presented to the court against the defendant. For an arrest warrant to be valid, it must have the defendant’s name and the crime, along with the time and place of the crime, the name of the court, and a judge’s signature.
Search Warrants
Unlike bench and arrest warrants, search warrants do not authorize police to arrest the defendant. It does, however, allow law enforcement to search a residence, vehicle or business. Generally, these warrants can only be performed at a certain time. Search warrants can lead to arrests.
Child Support Warrants
While you can be arrested or detained because of a child support warrant, it does not mean that you committed a crime. Child support warrants are issued if a person does not show up to a child support hearing.
When it comes to warrants, you will probably hear about active and outstanding warrants. Until an active warrant is acted upon by law enforcement, it is considered to be outstanding. If you had a warrant issued in the past but were never arrested, you could have an outstanding warrant.
How To Determine if You Have an Active Warrant
To figure out if there is an active warrant on your record, you can perform an active warrants search on the Shelby County Sheriff’s website. You need your personal information, such as your name and address. Fill out the form and search. If you cannot access the website for any reason, you can call the county clerk to inquire about warrants. When you call, you will need your name, social security number, case number and birthdate.
If you cannot find a warrant in the county records but you think that you still have one against you, you may want to check the superior court website. To use the superior court website, you need your name, birthdate, state ID and case number.
For federal cases, you may run into more complications. The U.S. Marshal’s website does have all outstanding warrant details. However, if you want to find your case’s details, you have to call the court’s clerk directly. Most defendants prefer to have a friend, family member or attorney make the call to avoid revealing themselves as the suspect.
While most warrants are public records, if you have a juvenile delinquency case, a family court case or domestic violence case, the details may not be available in public records.
What To Do if You Have an Active Warrant
Warrants do not disappear. If you find out that you have a warrant for your arrest, then you need to take care of it as soon as possible. Once there is a warrant, you do not want to waste your time trying to get the charges dropped. For example, if there are criminal allegations against you, you do not want to contact the plaintiff. Once there is an arrest warrant, the court process is already in full swing.
Your first line of action should be to speak with legal counsel. Not only can a lawyer help advise you on your next few steps, but he or she can begin negotiations and start work on your case from the beginning. You will have a hearing so the lawyer can gather evidence for the preliminary hearing.
Next, you need to think about bail. The good thing about a warrant is that if you find out you have one in advance, you can plan to pay bail once you are arrested. In some cases, you will have a hearing and in others, there may be a pre-set bond. When you use a bond agency’s services, it will be ready to pay your bond when necessary.
The final step is to turn yourself over to the authorities. For men, you can turn yourself into the booking center downtown next to the jail. Women can turn themselves in at the Women’s Facility near Shelby Farms. If you have bail ready, you can be released in as few as 12 hours.
Finding out that you have a warrant is stressful, but there are things that you can do for yourself. First, you want to ensure that you have legal representation in Memphis, TN. Next, you need to plan how to get out of jail when the time comes. Sometimes, speaking with a bail bond agent ahead of time can help ensure that you’re taken care of before you surrender yourself. Contact us at All n One Bail for help getting out of jail and affording your bond.
