Learn About Wisconsin Warrant Rules and Regulations

Like most states in the United States there are four types of Wisconsin warrants that are issued by the courts in the state of Wisconsin. Apart from the courts, the Wisconsin State Bureau of Investigation as well as the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, The Division of Motor Vehicles for the state of Wisconsin and the various offices of the US Marshals in Wisconsin State issue arrest warrants that list the names of all the wanted offenders, fugitives or prison escapees.

The four types of Wisconsin warrants are: 

1.    Arrest  Warrants
2.    Search  Warrants
3.    Bench Warrants
4.    Other Warrants.

An arrest warrant is issued by either a local criminal court or the superior court which directs the police officer or peace officers to arrest the individual who is the subject of the warrant and then bring the accused in a court for the purpose of arraignment. It is issued by the court once an indictment is filed with a criminal court in the state of Wisconsin in order to start a criminal action against the accused.

A search warrant is an official court document that is signed and issued by a judge or a magistrate in a county where the crime was committed. This type of warrant instructs the law enforcement officers assigned by the State of Wisconsin to perform a search of a vehicle, person, or a premise or place that is described in the warrant. It gives the officer the legal right for seizing and taking into custody any substance, object, material, items and any other type of properties found in the possession of the individual, vehicle or premises as described in the search warrant.It is the responsibility of the police officer to keep an account of the items found and seized and then deliver these to the court that had issued the search warrant.

A bench warrant directs the police officer or a peace officer to arrest and bring into custody the offender who had been previously arraigned for a crime but failed to appear for a court hearing.

Other Warrants refers to the warrants other than the search warrants and the arrest warrants. These warrants are issued for the detention or the arrest of a person or persons as per the guidelines of a federal law or the state law of Wisconsin. Examples of the other warrants for the State of Wisconsin include all federal warrants, executive law warrants such as those which fall under parole violation or the youth and family services as well as those warrants which are issued by a family court.

Information Contained in a Wisconsin Warrant

The most wanted list comprises the names of all the fugitives against whom there is an outstanding warrant.The contents of a Wisconsin warrant include details such as the name of the offender or the fugitive, or the escapee, identifying features such as name, date of birth, race, sex, hair color, eye color, height, weight, any distinguishing marks or features such as tattoos as well as the reason for issuing an arrest warrant against the subject.

Searching for the Wisconsin Warrants

It is possible for you to search and access your own records as well as the records of the other individuals in the State of Wisconsin for the purpose of checking for any outstanding warrants or citations. While you can view all the details of your own record in case of another individual you can only view the records that are meant for the consumption of the general public or are not sealed by a court order.

In order to search and obtain information about the outstanding warrants that are registered against you or any other individuals you need to either visit in person or use the official websites maintained by most of the local county Sheriff’s Department. You can also acquire information on warrants from the County Clerk’s Office that maintains all the court records for Wisconsin.

The various Sheriff’s Departments for the state of Wisconsin can be accessed online from:http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/alphabetical_index_of_wisconsin_community_sheriffs_http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/offices.html.

The various offices of the County Clerk’s in Wisconsin can be contacted from:http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=10505&locid=47.

In addition you can get hold of the list of the most wanted criminals and fugitives from:http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dci/tech/.