If you have an outstanding arrest warrant in the state of Colorado law enforcement officials can arrest you and take you into custody at any given moment. The details of the arrest warrant will include information such as:
- The name of the person that will be arrested
- The offense the person is wanted for
- The time and place where the warrant was issued
- The judge who signed the warrant
Officers will have permission to barge into your home or place of business, handcuff you and place you in the police car to be hauled off to jail. There will be no warnings or notifications before you are arrested. The only way to know that you have a warrant for sure before the police arrest you is to do your own research.
If you believe that you or somebody that you know has an active arrest warrant, we recommend that you do a Colorado warrant search to know for sure so that you can take action on your own terms.
Active Warrants in Colorado
A warrant is an official court document that demands the execution of an action. Whether it is a search warrant or an arrest warrant the law enforcement officers that are involved in the execution of the orders have permission to execute whatever actions are listed within the warrant.
Warrants in the state of Colorado do not fade away or expire. Every warrant will remain active and in place until the orders within are either executed, the person named in the warrant dies, or a judge purposely signs the warrant off.
Depending on the severity of the crime or circumstances that merit the warrant, law enforcement could be extremely aggressive in the search for the suspect, or they could just wait for the suspect to turn up in an automobile stop.
Execution of Warrants in Colorado
Depending on the type of warrant that is issued, law enforcement will execute the actions in various ways. There are set laws in place that will dictate the process of each warrant execution, however, each situation will have its own unique set of circumstances.
Once a warrant is signed into action by a judge or a magistrate it is up to the law enforcement agency that is in charge of the case to handle the situation as they see fit, within the boundaries of the law.
Warrant Records Search
Three Basic Types of Warrants in Colorado
Although the most common warrants that are issued in the state of Colorado are search warrants and arrest warrants, there are a total of three types of warrants that judges sign into action:
- Arrest warrants
- Search warrants
- Bench warrants
Even though all warrants are basically the same in concept, the details of each one will vary. The orders that are stipulated within the warrant will vary in order to accommodate the unique characteristics of every case.
Where search warrants and bench warrants are generally issued in order to bring an individual in front of a judge to face charges or circumstances that appeared as the result of a sentence, a search warrant will allow officers to search wherever the details within the warrant direct them to.
Since a warrant is signed by a judge the only way for it to be dismissed is it has to be executed or signed away by a judge. If not executed or signed away it will stay active for an indeterminate amount of time.
Arrest Warrants in Colorado
An officer does not necessarily need an arrest warrant to take a citizen into custody in the state of Colorado. If the officer witnesses the suspect commit a crime or can determine a substantial amount of probable cause a law enforcement officer can arrest a suspect.
Reasons that an arrest warrant might be necessary for an arrest are:
- The police did not witness the crime
- The suspect of the crime is not available for immediate arrest
- Forensics produced evidence that tied the suspect to a crime
If the police suspect an individual of criminal activity they can promptly bring any evidence that they have to a judge and ask for an arrest warrant. If the judge decides that there is enough probable cause to conclude that the person is involved in crimes, they will grant the warrant, write it out and sign it into issuance.
Other circumstances are when the district attorney collects enough evidence to file charges against a person for a crime. The DA will file charges first, then bring the charges to a judge to issue a warrant for the arrest of the suspect.
Once the arrest warrant is signed into activity the officers have permission to hunt the suspect down and arrest them wherever they encounter them. Depending on the stipulations of the warrant the police can even break down the door of the suspect’s home and drag them into custody at gunpoint.
Search Warrants in Colorado
In the event of an active search warrant in the state of Colorado, the authorities have permission to search the named person’s body or property. Since it is illegal for authorities to search a citizen unless there is either a warrant in place, they have permission, or they have probable cause that the person is endangering the safety of others in the community they have to be careful about the way that they handle all searches.
Some of the reasons that a law enforcement agency will request a search warrant are:
- Suspected possession of illegal property
- Suspected possession of items that have been stolen
- Suspected possession of child pornography
In the event that an officer fails to search a suspect in accordance with the laws and the stipulations that are mapped out within the warrant, any evidence that the search produces could be suppressed in court and deemed worthless against the case.
It is in the best interest of the authorities to follow the stipulations of the warrant and patiently bide their time in court.
Bench Warrants in Colorado
When a judge signs a bench warrant into effect it is directly from the judges’ bench in the courtroom. When a bench warrant is issued it is because the person named in the warrant failed to satisfy a court order.
The most common reasons for a judge to issue a bench warrant are:
- Failure to show up to a scheduled court appearance
- Failure to comply with the stipulations agreed upon in a fine
- Failure to show up to a court-mandated session such as community service
When a bench warrant is issued the police have the same permissions that they might have in an arrest warrant. The named person can be arrested and taken into police custody at any time from any place.
Although the circumstances for the bench warrant will vary from case to case, the only way to satisfy the warrant is for the named subject to be seen in the courtroom by a judge.
Do Regular Warrant Searches
In order to prevent the embarrassing circumstances of an aggressive, or even violent, arrest it is always a good idea to regularly check your name or people that you care about for warrants. Warrants are substantiated in secret, behind closed doors in order to keep the subjects from being able to protect themselves. A quick warrant search will be able to determine if there are any active arrest warrants or bench warrants against an individual. This way you can be prepared to deal with the consequences on your own terms.
***Regardless of which state 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.