The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution puts **limits** on how law enforcement can **arrest**, **search**, and **seize** property. These **rules** serve as the **foundation** for search and seizure laws across all states. Let’s dive into what AR active warrants look like under these conditions, revealing some surprising twists.
What is an outstanding warrant from Arkansas?
Active and outstanding warrants are simply legal terms used to denote orders for arrests issued by tribunals with criminal jurisdiction. Detention directives can broadly be categorized into two classes:
Active warrants: These are issued upon the verification of the case evidence held by the police for the establishment of probable cause. This scrutiny has to be carried out by the magistrate which essentially takes the power of issuing warrants out of the hands of the police. In fact, even when arrests are made without the use of an arrest warrant, the detention has to occur on the basis of probable cause for it to be deemed legal.
What’s more is that a grand jury hearing may be held at some stage in the criminal process to ascertain that the police did indeed have enough reason to suspect the involvement of the defendant in the crime before this person was detained. If the indictment is not returned by the grand jury, the case can be thrown out even at this stage. On the other hand, if the indictment is returned the case is bounded over to the district court if the suspect is in custody or an active warrant is issued against him.
Bench warrants: These orders for arrests are specifically issued when a person commits an act that can be viewed as contempt of court. In essence, disobeying a court order of any kind can amount to the issue of these warrants. Because the tribunal has first hand knowledge of the infraction commissioned by the defendant, a probable cause affidavit is not required for the issue of an arrest directive in such a scenario.
These decrees are legally termed as bench warrants and they are frequently put to use by the criminal as well as civil courts in the area. The execution of these orders is left to the police just like that of a regular arrest directive. However, restrictions are placed on the period of validity of these warrants. Also, these orders are limited in terms of their geographical reach, often being valid only within the issuing county or state.
When is an arrest warrant issued in AR?
Rule 7.1 of the Criminal Code of Arkansas states that summons can be issued in lieu of an arrest warrant. In fact, this is the preferred option when the complaint is brought before the tribunal by a civilian instead of a police officer. However, an active warrant will be released if the defendant fails to heed to the summons or the citation.
An arrest warrant will always be issued when the police petition the court for one and can prove that there is reasonable cause to hold the accused culpable for committing the transgression listed in the writ. It is also the legal protocol to issue an arrest warrant when the magistrate has reasonable certainty that the defendant will not respond to a summons.
Furthermore, the nature of the charges levied against the accused and the circumstances in which he is said to have committed the infraction will also play a significant role in the decision taken for the issue of an active warrant. Apart from this, the magistrate will consider a lot of ancillary information before sanctioning a warrant such as:
- The weight and scope of the evidence against the accused
- Place of residence and length of time spent there
- Employment status both past and present
- Family ties and relationships
- Mental condition
- Past criminal record
- Previous record of disobeying court directives for appearance
How can you find information on AR outstanding warrants?
One way to conduct a warrant search in AR is to go through the website of the local law enforcement agencies that furnish a list of arrest orders online. These include:
- Hot Spring County: http://hotspringcountysheriff.com/disclaimer.php?id=2
- Benton County: http://bentoncountysheriff.org/warrantsbulletin.aspx
- Boone County: http://boonesheriff.com/warrants.php
- Cross County: http://www.crosscountysheriff.org/warrants.php
- Madison County: http://www.mcso.ar.gov/Warrants/warrants.pdf
- Perry County: http://perrycountysheriffar.org/page.php?id=13
- St. Francis County: http://www.stfranciscountysheriff.org/warrants.php
- Union County: http://www.unioncountysheriff.net/viewpage.php?page_id=4
- Van Buren County: http://www.vbcso.com/page.php?id=10
However, it should be understood here that you stand no chance of finding arrest records against the people who have been named in the list. For a complete background report including details on outstanding warrants, you will have to contact the local state trooper’s office or the department of the county clerk or even the court of the magistrate in person.