In the state of New Jersey, the difference between a summons and an arrest warrant is that when a person is issued a summons they are simply instructed to show up at a court date to face a judge. An arrest warrant, on the other hand, gives police permission to place the individual under arrest and take them to jail to be booked.
In the event that a person has an active arrest warrant or bench warrant against them, the police can seek them out, and place them under arrest at any time and at any place.
A few reasons why arrest warrants are placed on people:
- A parole violation
- An indictment
- Incriminating evidence
People can also have warrants against them for traffic violations and failures to appear at court appearances.
In many cases, a defendant will be unaware of a warrant until they are placed in handcuffs and sitting in the back of a police car headed off to jail.
If you believe that you or somebody that you know has a warrant, we recommend that you do a New Jersey warrant search to know for sure so that you can take action on your own terms.
Active Warrants in the State of New Jersey
A warrant is a carefully devised contract that is signed into action by a judge in a court of law. The contract is a court order for law enforcement to carry out as soon as they possibly can. In the event that a warrant is active, it has not yet been carried out and the person that is named in it should expect a visit from law enforcement at any time.
Depending on the actions that are stipulated within the warrant, and how serious the situation is the police may aggressively seek to execute the warrant, or they may passively await the person on the warrant to come into contact with them sooner or later.
A few circumstances that might merit an aggressive police search are:
- Seeking a murder suspect
- Seeking a rape suspect
- Seeking a home invasion robbery suspect
At any time when a suspect is believed to be a threat to the safety of the public and community, law enforcement will aggressively look for them and push the boundaries of the law in order to get the threat off of the streets.
When an individual has an active warrant against them the only way to clear that warrant is to allow it to be executed. Some people will turn themselves in, some people will contact an attorney and negotiate terms, and some people will be arrested. The only other way for a warrant to disappear is if a judge signs it off.
Each warrant will be different because each case is different. Depending on the type of warrant that has been issued, the police will execute the orders of the warrants in the way they are ordered within the details of the document.
Types of Warrants in New Jersey
New Jersey, also known as the garden state, is highly esteemed for having a low crime rate per capita. Some argue that it is because of the amount of police that is in the state, others say that it is because the citizens are so awesome.
In any event, law enforcement executes its fair share of warrants. Although there are hundreds of different types of warrants that the state could use at one point or another the three most common types of warrants are:
- Search warrants
- Bench warrants
- Arrest Warrants
As we mentioned earlier, a warrant is a contract that is ordered by the court to be executed by law enforcement. However, the way that police execute a warrant will be different according to why the warrant was initiated, to begin with, and the end goal of the warrant.
Warrant Records Search
Search Warrants in New Jersey
When a judge agrees to issue a search warrant against an individual, or group of individuals it is because there is probable cause that suggests that there is a crime happening, or a crime that has happened where evidence of its occurrence is present in the home or on the body of the person named in the warrant.
A few reasons that could merit a search warrant are:
- Suspicion of selling illegal drugs
- Suspicion of selling illegal firearms
- Suspicion of withholding evidence that was used in a crime
- Suspicion of sexually assaulting a child
When a judge writes a search warrant into effect they will include specific details that pertain to the case that the police are building such as:
- The name of the defendant
- Where the search can take place
- The specific area that is allowed to be searched
A crafty lawyer will be able to attack the evidence that officers discover during the search if they can prove that the search was done in a manner that is not in compliance with the warrant.
In most cases, once a search warrant is active law enforcement will immediately act upon it and execute the search as soon as they arrive at the premises.
Bench Warrants in New Jersey
In the state of New Jersey, the law allows the judge to issue a warrant directly from the bench in the courtroom in the event that an individual fails to adhere to a court order. A bench warrant is usually the result of a defendant in a case failing to appear to an appointed court hearing. This type of warrant is issued solely by the judge without the assistance of a police officer or a district attorney.
Some of the other reasons why a judge will issue a bench warrant are:
- The defendant failed to pay a fine on time
- The defendant failed to show up at community service
- The defendant failed to report for jury duty
When a person has a bench warrant against them police have the authority to arrest them and take them to jail to be heard in court. However, many times this kind of warrant can be handled simply by the police issuing a summons for the defendant to appear in front of a judge.
Arrest Warrants in New Jersey
When a judge issues an arrest warrant against an individual it is because they have been accused of a crime and the court wants to hold them accountable for their actions. An arrest warrant does not confirm the guilt of a crime, it simply demands that the person is heard in the courtroom because of the allegations.
When an arrest warrant is in place the police officers have permission to:
- Arrest the defendant on sight
- Perform a search of the person and their immediate surroundings
- Break the door down in order to make an arrest
Although police do not need a warrant to arrest a person if there is ample probable cause that points to the defendant being involved in criminal activity, the presence of an arrest warrant gives police much more power over the situation.
Although bench warrants and arrest warrants are similar in many ways, the main difference is that an arrest warrant demands that a person is placed under arrest and is tried for charges against them and a bench warrant is a result of a case that is already in progress. An arrest warrant will result in the person going to jail.
Once an arrest warrant is signed into activity by a judge the only way to satisfy it is for the subject of the warrant to be arrested and brought to justice.
Why do a Warrant Search
Performing a warrant search will give an individual knowledge that has the capacity to keep them out of jail. If an individual has a warrant out for their arrest and they are unaware of it, they can be arrested and taken to jail at any time. If the person is aware of the warrant in the first place, they have the freedom to contact a lawyer and get help before the arrest takes place.
Although just being aware might not be enough to keep a person from going to jail, depending on the circumstances, awareness could give them an opportunity to go to jail on their own terms when they decide.
***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.