If you haven’t been living under a rock, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard someone talking about warrant searches at some point in time or another. Searching for warrants isn’t anything new, but it has been gaining popularity in some circles over the years.
Even though it’s been gaining some stream, that doesn’t mean that everyone is an expert on itmost people have a lot to learn about the processthe implications of said process. Most people aren’t even sure what kind of people will appear in a warrant search.
That’s why we’ve written today’s article. We wanted to make sure that as many people as possible fully understood what a warrant was, how to find a warrant,what kind of people get warrants out for their arrest. Without this information, anything that you get from a warrant search isn’t going to be as useful.
So, together let’s explore these details so that we can all gain a better understanding of what searching for a warrant is,what the results of said search might actually imply. There’s a lot to know on this topic, so buckle in.
What Exactly is A Warrant?
Let’s begin at the beginning because it’s important to make sure that all of our readers have a foundational understanding of what a warrant is exactly. It’s a lot like building a house, if you don’t have a solid foundation, anything that is built off of it won’t be as sturdy.
A warrant, in short, is a legal order to search or seize a person or their property. This order has to be authorized by a judge or a magistrate, with some states granting limited warrant authorization power to town mayors, depending on the situation.
In order for a warrant to be issued, there has to be enough of a cause for it to be issued. This is because of the 4th amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects citizens from unreasonable searchesseizures in both their persontheir property.
That’s why a judge or magistrate is able to authorize a warrant while any random police officer is not. Judgesmagistrates get to their positions after showing years of having a deep understanding of the law, so the criminal justice system trusts them to not grossly violate people’s rights.
What Kind of Crimes can Result in a Warrant?
In order to find out what kind of people will appear in a warrant search, you have to understand the kinds of crimes that can result in a warrant. There are a lot of crimes that can result in a warrant for someone’s arrest. For example:
- Assault.
- Battery.
- Unpaid parking tickets.
- Failure to appear in court.
- Resisting arrest.
- Failure to appear for jury duty.
- Murder.
- Burglary.
- Arson.
- Sexual offenses.
- Any kind of fraud.
- Blackmail.
- Interfering in a police investigation.
- Selling narcotics.
- Shoplifting.
- Vandalism.
- Grand theft auto (or equivalent crime in your state)
Really, any crime that gives the suspect a chance to escape before law enforcement arrives on the scene can result in a warrant. That means that most crimes fall into this category, so nearly any crime that you could commit would be subject to the issuance of a warrant.
Now, things like jaywalking are unlikely to have a warrant out for your arrest because it would be a waste of police resources to hunt down everybody that jaywalks. If you live in a city, you could probably imagine how big of a waste of time that would be for everyone.
Just imagine if the police tried to hunt down every single person that jaywalked in New York City, for example. That would probably be the largest manhunt in historyto what end? To fine each person a couple hundred dollars apiece? The police would actively lose money on that.
That being said, it doesn’t matter if the crime is a misdemeanor or a felony. A warrant can be issued if a law is broken,police will be able to execute that warrantbring the suspect into custody as long as there is enough cause for said warrant to be executed.
What Kind of People Get Warrants Out for Their Arrest?
Now it’s come to be the time to answer the question that we posed with the title of this article. What kind of people will you find when you’re searching for warrants? This information can be very important for those looking for outstanding warrant information, but the answer is a little murky.
To fully understand why the answer is a little murky, one has to understand what having a warrant out for your arrest actually means. Without that piece of information, it might be kind of hard to understand what the implications of having a warrant are.
A warrant does not mean that the suspect is guilty. In the United States, everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt. That means that a warrant simply means that the person in question is a person of interest, but they still might not be the person who committed the crime.
So, what kind of people will you find when you do a warrant search? In all honesty, you’ll find all sorts of different people. Innocent people, guilty people, saints,monsters alike. No one type of person gets a warrant out for their arrest.
Maybe Sue, a 72-year-old woman, thought that her court date was a week after it actually was. She would get a warrant for failing to appear in court, but that doesn’t make her any worse of a person for it.
On the other hand, a big name in the drug smuggling community could have a warrant out for their arrestthey could have done some absolutely heinous things to other humans beingshave earned themself three hotsa cot for the rest of their life.
There are also people who are just a victim of circumstances that have a warrant to bring them in but are actually entirely innocent. Ideally, these people will just be let go without so much as a slap on the wrist,in most cases, that’s exactly what happens to them.
Asking what kind of people you’ll find when doing a warrant search is a lot like asking what kind of people enjoy chicken noodle soup. The answer varies a lot because there are a lot of scenarios where someone can wind up with a warrant for their arrest, whether they’re guilty or not.
When Are Warrants Executable?
Now, let’s take a quick look at when warrants are executable. Are there any restrictions on when law enforcement can execute a warrant at all? This can vary a lot on a state-by-state basiswe haven’t read through the laws in all of the states, but we can give you a general answer.
That general answer is that there is no restriction on when a warrant can be executed. There may be some laws on the books that we are entirely unaware of because we haven’t read every single law, but from what we know there are no restrictions in any state on this.
That means that it could be Monday at 9:45 AM, Saturday at 11:37 PM, or even 3:36 AM on Christmas day. Rain or shine, weekend or weekday, it doesn’t matter. If there’s a warrant out for someone’s arrest, they can be arrested at any time.
If you either know or believe that you have a warrant for your arrest, you should seek out legal counsel as soon as you can so you can already have a game plan for your court hearing. It may also be a good idea to get your affairs in order before it’s too late.
Finding Warrants
If you want to find warrant information, there are a couple of easy things that you can do. You could try calling your local sheriff’s department or checking on their website. This method usually works pretty well, but it can also be a little spotty, depending on where you live.
There are also a lot of services that specialize in looking up warrants on the internet that would be more than happy to help you conduct a quick nationwide search for warrants. This method is a lot faster than the other, but a lot of these services will charge you a few bucks to use their system.
Knowing Who Can Get a Warrant Can Improve Your Life
There is a lot to know about warrants. They may be one of the simpler mechanisms in the United States criminal justice system, but that doesn’t make them any less complex. Knowing who can get a warrantwhat kind of people you’ll find doing a warrant search is important.
Without that information, any warrants you find will be severely lacking context. That’s never a great thing, especially if you’re doing this kind of search to ensure your safety or the safety of those around you. Being able to contextualize this information means that you’ll get more out of the warrant information that you find.
