Conducting a California Arrest Warrant Search
An arrest warrant is a specific writ that is generally issued by a magistrate or judge in California State. The warrants are issued by the county courts and then they are passed on to a county sheriff, constable or a police officer. The warrants issued by the California courts can be arrest warrants or search warrants, or even execution warrants.
The arrest warrants need to be supported by a signature as well as a sworn affidavit of the applicant which should provide sufficient credible reason for the issuance of an arrest warrant. This implies that the affidavit for the application of a search warrant should be able to establish that a crime has been committed and also identify the person who has committed that crime. California like other states in the United States requires an arrest warrant for Misdemeanor charges which are committed in the absence of a police officer. If there is adequate evidence to prove that a criminal activity has taken place or if the police officers believe that there is “probable cause” to believe that a crime may take place in a particular location or if the officer can connect a person to a criminal activity, then the officer can make an arrest without an arrest warrant. In addition, an arrest warrant is also not required for a felony charge that may take place in the absence of the police officer. When an arrest warrant is issued in the name of a person, the police officer can make an arrest at anytime and anywhere, as soon as they are able to identify that person and bring him into custody.
Contents of an Arrest Warrant
An arrest warrant generally contains details such as the crime that was committed, date when the warrant was issued, the name of the judge or the magistrate who had issued the arrest warrant and the name of the individual who is alleged to have committed the crime. In addition, the arrest warrant may also state the bail amount required for the release of the accused.
Types of Arrest Warrants:
There are two types of arrest warrants that are issued by a magistrate or a judge in California State. The first one is called warrant for arrest or a search warrant which needs to be supplemented by a written affidavit by an applicant under oath. The written affidavit provides reasons for arrest supported by adequate testimony based on credible evidence which is required to identify the crime and the person who is alleged to have committed the crime. The affidavit for an arrest warrant is prepared either by the prosecuting attorney or by the law enforcement agencies of the various counties of the state. The second type of arrest warrant is a bench warrant. A bench warrant is issued by a judge or a magistrate “from the bench”. It is issued when an accused fails to appear in court for an arrest charge or he or she has previously violated court orders.
Functions
The main objective of issuing an arrest warrant is to help the state law enforcement agencies to arrest the accused who is named in the arrest warrant, bring them into custody and then make them appear in the court. In a few instances, a bail may also be attached along with the arrest warrant, or the accused may have to make an appearance in the court before he or she can be released from the police custody. In genera, an arrest warrant does not expire. This implies that the warrant for arrest remains effective till the accused is brought into custody. But sometimes a warrant for arrest may be recalled by the judge, despite the accused not being arrested by the police officers. This usually takes place in the case of bench warrants when the accused misses out a particular court hearing date.
Procedure for Arrest Warrant Search
If you are subjected to an arrest warrant, you need to contact a particular court or the Sheriff’s Department immediately. You can inquire and find out if there are any outstanding warrants against your name by visiting http://www.sdsheriff.net/csb/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/warrants.html or
http://apps.sdsheriff.net/warrant/waar.aspx or
http://ocsd.org/ or
http://ag.ca.gov/wanted/wanted_search.php
Additionally, you can also get details about an outstanding warrant against you by checking the California State’s Warrants for Arrest online service by, contacting the Warrant Office in San Diego at the following phone number: 858 974 2110.
If you choose to call the following phone number, you need to provide details such as the warrant number if it is available, date of birth, first name and last name of the person who is believed to have an arrest warrant against his name. You can also provide information about a wanted subject at this phone number.
For information on bail notices, or to make a bail payment for your arrest warrant, you can pay by a money order or by a personal check that is payable to the Clerk of the Court in California State or at the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, at San Diego Sheriffs Department Court Services, Attention: Warrants Division, P. O. Box 939062, San Diego, CA 92193-9062
If your bail notice requires a mandatory appearance on your part, you need to appear in person in the court, at the times that is listed in your notice. You can pay the bail amount that is stated in your notice before your court appearance. You need to present yourself in the court within a period of 10 days of the date of appearance.
Alternatively, if you wish to pay the bail amount in cash, you can make such a payment
at the court location that is mentioned on the bail notice or you can also make cash payment at the San Diego County Courthouse.
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