Oregon Warrant Searches

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In the state of Oregon, a peace officer has the authority to arrest a person whether there is an active arrest warrant or not. As long as the officer can justify probable cause to show the possibility of criminal activity they can place the suspect under arrest.

If a person that has been placed under arrest can later prove that there was no probable cause to merit the arrest, they may be able to take action against the officer.

A police officer can place a citizen under arrest if:

  • They witness the person committing a crime
  • They are informed by an eyewitness of the crime
  • The individual is caught fleeing the scene of a crime
  • The officer feels that there is enough evidence to deem an arrest

If you believe that you or somebody that you know has a warrant, we recommend that you do an Oregon warrant search to know for sure so that you can take action on your own terms.

Types of Warrants in Oregon

The state of Oregon operates with three basic types of warrants. However, there are several types of warrants that fall under the categories of the three basic ones. For instance, a warrant for the revocation of probation would fall under the category of an arrest warrant.

The three basic types of warrants in Oregon are:

  1. Arrest warrants
  2. Bench warrants
  3. Search warrants

Each one of these types of warrants must be signed into existence by a judge or a magistrate. Arrest warrants and search warrants must merit substantial evidence of probable cause or they will be illegal. A bench warrant, however, falls under a little bit of a different category.

Arrest Warrants in Oregon

Although an officer does not need a warrant to arrest an individual in the state of Oregon, there are limitations to how an arrest can be made without a warrant in place. For example, an officer can not force their way into a suspect’s home and place them under arrest without an arrest warrant in effect.

Circumstances that merit a legitimate arrest warrant are:

  • Arresting an individual in their home
  • Arresting an individual at their place of work
  • Arresting an individual at their place of school

Once a judge signs an arrest warrant into effect the subject of that warrant can and will be arrested on sight. The only way to deactivate an arrest warrant is for the named suspect to be apprehended and brought in front of the court.

In most cases, if the police officers investigating the defendant are patient and purposeful, they will build the case against the suspect and bring the evidence in front of a district attorney who then files charges against the suspect. Once the charges have been filed, a judge will issue a warrant for the arrest of the person.

Immediately after the warrant is signed into effect, the officers can begin an active, aggressive search for the individual in order to bring them in to face charges.

The only option that the defendant has at this point is to contact an attorney and make arrangements to deal with the charges peacefully.

Bench Warrants in Oregon

Bench warrants are put into effect directly by a judge as they sit at their ”bench.” Maybe you have seen movies or television programs where a judge sitting at their place in the courtroom grants permission for an individual to ”approach the bench.” This is the bench that a bench warrant is referring to.

In most cases when a judge issues a bench warrant it is because the defendant failed to uphold their end of a court order. Reasons why a judge would invoke a bench warrant could be:

  • Failure to appear in court
  • Failure to comply with a court order
  • Failure to pay a fine in the allotted time
  • Failure to complete work project or community service

Once a bench warrant is put into place it will not disappear or expire over a certain amount of time. The only way to deal with a bench warrant is to show up in court and face the judge.

Bench warrants are a lot like arrest warrants, however, the law enforcement agencies will be less likely to search for the defendants as aggressively as they would for a person that is wanted for felonies.

Search Warrants in Oregon

Although search warrants must be presented before a judge to be signed before they can go into effect, they are not the same as the other warrants. A search warrant gives peace officers and other law enforcement agencies permission to search the personal property of those named on the warrant and seize any items that are of interest to the court.

Although the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is in place so that the everyday citizen can be protected against unlawful or unnecessary search and seizures when there is a matter of public safety involved a law enforcement agency can use their own judgment as to what does or doesn’t constitute probable cause.

Some of the reasons that would merit a search warrant in the state of Oregon are:

  • Suspicion of being in possession of illegal firearms
  • Suspected possession of stolen property
  • Suspected possession and or sales of illegal drugs
  • Suspected possession of child pornography

If a person is issued a search warrant that allows authorities to search their homes and other personal property the areas that are to be searched must be specified in the search warrant. However, police can be very clever at wording documents. In most circumstances, when a defendant challenges a search warrant they get buried under gobs of red tape and legal mumbo-jumbo.

Talented and experienced defense attorneys are sometimes able to exclude evidence found in searches by discrediting the pretense of the search and forcing the evidence to be suppressed by the court.

Circumstances that may exclude the validity of evidence uncovered in a search are:

  • Illegal search procedures
  • Evidence found outside of the specified search area
  • Evidence found in areas that are not allowed to be searched

Since search warrants are established in the attempt to gather evidence for the prosecution of an individual they are not considered public record, nor can they be accessed by the public until they have been executed and the search has been conducted. This is so that the person or people named in the warrant will not have any way of knowing about the search until it has been done.

Ramey Warrants

Another type of warrant that is worth mentioning, and people should be aware of, is a Ramey warrant. The Ramey warrant falls under the umbrella of an arrest warrant but is only used in certain circumstances.

In most cases when an arrest warrant is issued it is a result of the district attorney filing charges against the person named on the warrant. Once the charges have already been filed, the judge will grant an arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant gives the authorities the power to arrest a defendant in their home, office, or wherever.

In the event that the district attorney is unavailable to file charges through the court because of the weekend or holiday, the police will ask a judge to file a Ramey warrant so the person can be arrested without officially being charged with a crime.

Once the suspect is in jail the district attorney will be able to file charges during regular business hours and officially start the case.

Warrant Searches

If you or somebody that you care about is concerned that there might be active arrest warrants out that could jeopardize freedom it is a good idea to perform regular warrant searches. Stay alert, stay focused, and most importantly…stay out of jail.

Regardless of which state that 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.