An arrest warrant in the state of Arkansas can be issued by any circuit judge, district judge, city judge, or magistrate. Once an arrest warrant is signed into action any law enforcement officer may execute the action of the arrest.
A person with an outstanding arrest warrant in Arkansas can be arrested, detained, and booked into the county jail on sight.
Law enforcement has the authority to arrest a warranted citizen:
- At their residence
- At their workplace
- At their place of education
- Amidst friends in a public place
At any time and at any place that the subject of the arrest warrant is located, the officers can and will handcuff the person and haul them off to jail.
If you believe that you or somebody that you know has an active arrest warrant, we recommend that you do an Arkansas warrant search to know for sure so that you can take action on your own terms.
Active Warrants in Arkansas
There is no need for an arrest warrant in order for a police officer to arrest a suspect in the state of Arkansas. If law enforcement sees a person committing a crime or they have probable cause that the person is involved in a crime an officer can make an arrest.
However, in the event that a person is the subject of an active warrant the police are expected to take action and execute the warrant as soon as possible.
Whether the warrant calls for an arrest or a search, it is an official signed document that is required, by law, to be executed. Anybody that is named in an outstanding warrant is at risk of police action.
In the event of an active arrest warrant, the subject of the warrant has the option to seek legal help and consult with an attorney for advice. In many cases, a lawyer will be able to communicate with the court system and negotiate a safe solution for the execution of the warrant.
An attorney can:
- Negotiate with the court system
- Advocate for the subject of the warrant
- Make arrangements for the subject to see the judge
Since it is not up to the police to decide the guilt or innocence of an arrested person, there is no way for them to cut deals or negotiate in the event of an arrest. The odds are that if a person with an active arrest warrant is pulled over, they will go to jail.
Warrant Records Search
Types of Warrants in Arkansas
Outside of special capias warrants and extradition warrants, there are three basic warrants that are signed into action by a judge in the state of Arkansas:
- Arrest warrant
- Bench warrant
- Search warrant
Although capias warrants are issued in order to ensure that a person will make it to their appointed court appearance, and extradition warrants are issued in order to extradite a suspect from one state to the next to stand trial, they both fall under the same basic categories as one of the above warrants.
Arrest warrants and bench warrants will most likely result in the arrest or apprehension of a subject. Search warrants will result in the person named on the warrant being subject to search and seizure.
In the event that a search warrant turns up evidence that the subject named in the warrant has committed a crime, that person can be arrested for the crime at the time of the discovery.
Arrest Warrants in Arkansas
An arrest warrant gives law enforcement permission to aggressively pursue a suspect and arrest them for the purpose of standing trial for the charges that they are accused of.
In some cases, law enforcement officers can personally request that a judge grant them an arrest warrant for an individual before any charges are filed. This usually happens in the event that the district attorney is too wrapped up in other cases, or it is after hours, and there will be a long break until the next business hour.
In most cases when an arrest warrant is issued the district attorney has already filed charges against the subject and has brought the case in front of a judge to officially issue a warrant for arrest.
An arrest warrant will stay active and outstanding until the person named on the warrant is brought before a judge in the court of law. The only other way an arrest warrant will be dismissed is if a judge personally dismisses it.
Bench Warrants in Arkansas
In the state of Arkansas when a judge issues a bench warrant , it is directly from their bench in the courtroom. The warrant is usually issued as a result of a person failing to comply with a court order.
There could be an endless number of reasons that would merit a bench warrant because each case has its own unique set of details. However, the most common reasons that a judge issues a bench warrant are:
- Subject failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing
- Subject failed to pay a certain amount of money within an allotted amount of time
- Subject failed to turn themselves in for a sentence such as work detail
- Subject did not comply with a stipulated order from the court
Depending on the factor of public safety, law enforcement could make finding a person named on a bench warrant a high priority, or a low one. If the safety of the public is at risk, police may aggressively seek the subject in order to prevent an unsafe environment for the community.
Once a bench warrant is signed into activity it will remain active until the subject is either brought into the courtroom, or a judge signs it out of commision. A bench warrant will never expire or resolve itself. The person named on it must be brought in front of the court to face the consequences of the offense.
Search Warrants in Arkansas
Because of the Fourth Amendment to the United States, Constitution police officers do not have the authority to simply search and harass everybody that they feel might be involved in crime. In order for an officer to legally conduct a search of a person, they must either have permission from the suspect or have an official search warrant in place.
Once a judge signs a search warrant into activity the officers that are interested in executing the search have permission to search the person and the property of the subject named in the warrant.
Although they have permission to search, they must follow the stipulations of the warrant. If they do not obey the orders that are written out in the warrant they lose all of the evidence that they produce from the search.
Until the search is executed the only people that know that it is in place is law enforcement. A search warrant does not become a public record until after the search has been done. This way, the chance that the people named in the warrant will never know it is going to happen until the police show up at their door.
The Importance of Regular Warrant Searches
The scary thing about arrest warrants and bench warrants is that you could have them against you and not even know it until you are in handcuffs. If you have any reason to believe that you or somebody that you know could have a warrant, doing a quick warrant search could help you to avoid the embarrassing and stressful events that happen during an arrest. Regular searches will provide you with information that will make life a little bit easier for you and the ones that you care about.
***Regardless of which state you live in it is always wise to contact an attorney for any questions that you may have when it comes to warrant laws or any other legal concerns. The content found on this website is only for informational purposes and is not to be mistaken for legal advice.