Arizona Arrest Warrants

Warrants come in different shapes and sizes. What they all have in common is how they are issued. A judge will issue a warrant for a specific individual for a specific reason, but only if that individual has committed an offense. The state or Arizona governs its warrants through state laws as well as federal laws. Depending on if the law is federal or state, the procedures and rules for each situation may vary and require enforcement with each warrant.

Specifics
The United States' Fourth Amendment to the Constitution ensures no unreasonable seizures or searches. This means that in order for a warrant to be legal, the warrant must be specific and detailed to the specific property and individual. Arizona state law also requires certain statutes for issuing a warrant by a judge.

Warrant Types
Arizona has differing types of available warrants. Much of the time these include arrest warrants and search warrants. Search warrants allow law enforcement to search a specific property for a specific item in accordance with a criminal case. Arrest warrants allow law enforcement to taken a specific individual into custody for criminal actions.

Bench warrants are a type of arrest warrants that are specifically issued when an individual is in violation of the court. These terms include an individual on bail not appearing at a court appearance for his or her criminal proceedings. Upon arrest, the individual will usually be taken directly to the court rather than a law enforcement agency.

Issuing a Warrant
Arizona law allows warrants to be issued prior to or following a criminal act. If law enforcement has reason to believe illegal articles or contraband are located at a specific residence, a judge may issue a search warrant. If upon searching the residency the articles in suspicion are discovered, an arrest warrant is not needed to take the individual or individuals into custody. Warrants are often issued after there is a law enforcement complaint towards a specific criminal action.

Warrants are not necessary in every situation. If an individual allows a law enforcement officer to search his or her residency or automobile and incriminating evidence is surfaced, the officer has the right to take that individual into custody. Also if upon questioning evidence is in plain sight, an individual may also be arrested without the necessity of a warrant.

Arizona revised statutes 13-3854 allows private citizens and law enforcement officers to take an individual into custody if enough reasonable information is present for the individual to have been sentenced to at least one year of incarceration or punishment by capital punishment. These include felony offenses.

Finding a Warrant
Sometimes an individual may not know that he or she has a warrant for his or her arrest. This is normally possible in identity theft cases as well as fraud cases. The Internet allows the search for arrest warrants through different databases and search engines.

Arizona specifically has search engines by county and city. Some services are available for free while other can be purchased for thirty to forty dollars. Criminal defense attorneys also have access to arrest warrants and can also give advisement if a warrant is present.