In the state of Alabama, an arrest may be made, under a warrant or without a warrant, by any sheriff or other officer acting as sheriff or his deputy, or by any constable acting within their respective counties, or by any marshal, deputy marshal or policeman of any incorporated city or town within the limits of the county.
What this means is that in Alabama an officer does not need an arrest warrant to invoke an arrest on a citizen. However, if an arrest warrant is signed into effect the warrant will be executed by the arrest of the defendant.
Arrest warrants in the state of Alabama can be requested by:
- Police officer
- Marshall
- Citizen
If there is sufficient probable cause that indicates the defendant of the warrant was involved with the crime a judge will sign and validate an arrest warrant.
If you believe that you or somebody that you know has a warrant, we recommend that you do an Alabama warrant search to know for sure so that you can take action on your own terms.
Types of Warrants in Alabama
Each state in the United States will have its own laws and tactics in regards to warrants. In the state of Alabama, there are three basic types of warrants that can be issued against citizens.
- Arrest Warrants
- Search Warrants
- Bench Warrants
Each of these types of warrants will be put into effect by a judge signing them into activity through the court. Other types of warrants that are of importance are:
- Federal Warrants
- Parole Warrants
- Probation Warrants
A federal warrant, a parole warrant, and a probation warrant are all warrants, but they differ from the rest of the warrants because they are established by an entity that is outside of the judge’s signature.
A federal warrant is a warrant that is put into effect by the federal government and holds more weight than a warrant placed by a county judge or magistrate.
This type of warrant can also be initiated as a result of a federal parole violation.
A parole warrant is automatically put into effect when a parolee violates the terms of the parole. The agreement for the right to a warrant was made in court as a part of the sentence for the crime that resulted in the parolee being on parole. A judge can sign a parole warrant based only on the word of the parolee’s parole officer.
A probation warrant is much like a parole warrant but is a result of a county commitment of incarceration through the court system at the time of sentencing. When a person is convicted and sentenced to state prison they are released on parole. When the person is convicted to county jail they are released on probation. If a person that is on probation violates the conditions of the probation the probation officer will ask the judge to implement a probation violation warrant.
A probation violation warrant, a parole warrant, and a federal parole warrant are all basically arrest warrants without state and county boundaries.
Warrant Records Search
Arrest Warrants in Alabama
Although the authorities in Alabama do not necessarily need to have an arrest warrant to arrest a person of suspicion, there are situations that could merit an arrest warrant for an individual that is suspected of committing a crime.
- Suspect ran from the scene of a crime
- Suspect was implicated on video of committing a crime
- Eyewitnesses stated that the suspect committed a crime
In the event that a judge signs an arrest warrant into effect, the defendant named within the warrant will have to be brought into court and in front of a judge in order for the warrant to be satisfied.
At this time there is no statute of limitations that will nullify a warrant. However, depending on the crime that the arrest warrant was implemented upon there may be a statute of limitations for the crime committed.
The main objective of an arrest warrant is to bring the mentioned defendant into custody to either stand trial or be cleared of any involvement in the crime they are accused of.
Search Warrants in Alabama
A search warrant is a type of warrant that gives the authorities permission to search a person, the person’s personal belongings, the property of the person, and even the area that the person is located in.
Some of the instances which may justify the grounds to implement a search warrant are:
- Possession of stolen property
- Possession of property that was used to commit a crime
- Possession of illegal weapons
- Suspicion of selling illegal drugs
- Suspicion of crimes against children
- Suspicion of possessing incriminating evidence
Although these are instances that will merit a search warrant, they are only a fraction of the instances where the issuance of a warrant will be justified by a judge.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. constitution is in place so that regular citizens are protected from unnecessary or unauthorized search and seizures by police and other law enforcement agencies. However, police, marshalls, and other law enforcement agencies have the authority to discern whether or not circumstances are jeopardizing the safety of the general public.
In plain English, if you or the people that you are associating with at the time give the authorities a valid reason to conduct a search, they will search you one way or another.
Bench Warrants In Alabama
A bench warrant is put into place by a judge from the ”bench” of the courtroom. When a person is non compliant or fails to satisfy a commitment that was ordered by the court a judge can invoke a bench warrant to remand the offender into the custody of the court.
The most popular reasons that a judge will file a bench warrant on a defendant are:
- Failure to appear to an appointed court date
- Failure to pay a fine on time
- Failure to complete a work detail project demanded by the court
- Failure to carry out a sentence ordered by the court
- Violating a restraining order
When a court order is put into action and signed by a judge there are no loopholes or excuses for failing the order. When a person fails to deliver their part of the bargain the judge will automatically order that the person be brought back into the courtroom to face the judge and answer to the system.
Once a person has a bench warrant issued against them, the only way to resolve the warrant is to go back into court and face the judge. There are no time limits or statutes of limitations on bench warrants, they are only resolved when a judge signs them off as satisfied.
Warrant Searches in the United States
Because warrants are issued through the court system by a judge and signed into activity under a court process they are considered public information. When a document is public record it means that the general public has the right to see the document. Other instances of public information are:
- Arrest history
- Criminal history
- Property sales
- Driving records
What these documents have in common is that they are all involved with official government business. There are laws in place that allow the common people to be able to glimpse into the activities of the government.
Since warrants are regarded as public information anybody can look for them, and view them. However, if the judge finds probable cause that the information contained in any warrant is detrimental to the safety of the community they can order the documents to be suppressed until an official finding of the case has been established.
If you know that you might have a warrant out for your arrest, and you can’t reveal the details through a warrant search, don’t waste time. Get a lawyer and prepare yourself.
- Get a lawyer
- Contact the court
- Make arrangements to address the warrant
- Deal with the warrant on your own terms
If you hire an attorney to help with your warrant keep in mind that they cannot simply make the warrant disappear. All they can do is guide you through the process and defend you when it is time to go to court and fight the charges.
A lawyer can help to get you through the process and out of jail as soon as possible. As for the charges against you, the court will give you a chance to prove your innocence in due time.
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.