Editing Arrest warrant (section)

==United States==
{{Law enforcement in the United States}}
For the police to make a lawful arrest, the arresting officer(s) must have either [[probable cause]] to arrest, or a valid arrest warrant.

A valid arrest warrant must be issued by a neutral judge or magistrate, who has determined there is probable cause for an arrest, based upon sworn testimony or an affidavit in support of the petition for a warrant.<ref name="gard">{{cite journal|last1=Gard|first1=Stephen W.|title=Bearing False Witness: Perjured Affidavits and the Fourth Amendment|journal=Suffolk University Law Review|date=2008|volume=41|issue=3|page=452|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1632&context=fac_articles|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref> The arrest warrant must specifically identify the person to be arrested.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jenkins|first1= A.|title=The American Courts: a Procedural Approach|date=2011|publisher=Jones and Bartlett Publishers|location=Sudbury, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0763755287|page=287|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvT5SVwbakUC}}</ref> If a law enforcement affiant provides false information or shows reckless disregard for the truth when providing an affidavit or testimony in support of an arrest warrant, that may constitute grounds to invalidate the warrant.<ref name="gard"/>

These minimum requirements stem from the language contained in the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]]. Federal statutes and most jurisdictions require the issuance of an arrest warrant for the arrest of individuals for most [[misdemeanor]]s that were not committed within the view of a police officer.<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web|title=Warrantless Arrests, Policy 501.4|url=http://www.flpd.org/home/showdocument?id=4157|website=Fort Lauderdale Police Department|access-date=13 August 2017|date=November 2016}}</ref> However, as long as police have the necessary probable cause, a warrant is usually not needed to arrest someone suspected of a [[felony]] in a public place; these laws vary from state to state.<ref>{{cite web|title=Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164, 128 S.Ct. 1598 (2008)|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1093900464900723958|website=Google Scholar|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref> In a non-emergency situation, an arrest of an individual in their home requires a warrant.<ref>{{cite web|title=Search & Seizure Field Guide|url=https://www.aclu.org/files/FilesPDFs/ALPR/oregon/Washington%20County%20Sheriff%27s%20Office/30012-30050%20Search%20and%20Seizure%20Field%20Guide.pdf|website=ACLU|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref>

===Adequate showing of probable cause===
Probable cause can be based on either direct observation by the police officer, or on hearsay information provided by others. Information the police bring to the neutral and detached magistrate must establish that—considering the police officer's experience and training—the officer knows facts, either through personal observation or through hearsay, that would suggest to a [[Reasonable person|reasonable, prudent person]] that the individual named in the warrant committed or was committing a crime.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Hearsay Evidence as a Basis for Prosecution, Arrest and Search|journal=Indiana Law Journal|date=Spring 1957|volume=32|issue=3|url=http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2796&context=ilj|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref>

From 1964 to 1983, a constitutionally adequate affidavit comprised exclusively or primarily of hearsay information had to contain information suggesting to the examining magistrate that (1) the hearsay declarant supplying the information to the police was a credible person, and (2) that the hearsay declarant had a strong basis of knowledge for the alleged facts.<ref>[[Aguilar v. Texas|Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 (1964)]]</ref> Since 1983, a constitutionally sufficient affidavit must support a conclusion by a reviewing magistrate that the "[[totality of the circumstances]]" suggest that there is a fair probability that the facts the police relied on for probable cause to arrest are valid; the magistrate balances "the relative weights of all the various indicia of reliability (and unreliability) attending an informant's tip."<ref>[[Illinois v. Gates|Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213]]</ref>

===Neutral and detached magistrate===
The individual issuing the arrest warrant need not be a judge or an attorney,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goldstein|first1=Abraham S.|title=The Search Warrant, The Magistrate, and Judicial Review|journal=New York University Law Review|date=1987|volume=62|issue=6|page=1173|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/nylr62&div=47&id=&page=|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref> but must be both capable of determining whether probable cause exists as well as be a neutral and detached official.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jones v. United States, 333 US 10 (1948).|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12095002551234782978|website=Google Scholar|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref> While arrest warrants are typically issued by courts, they may also be issued by one of the chambers of the [[United States Congress]] or other [[legislature]]s.

===No known or reckless falsehoods===
A warrant is invalid if the defendant challenging the arrest warrant can show, by a [[preponderance of the evidence]], that: 
* Specific parts of the affidavit the police submitted are false.
* The police either knowingly falsified them or made them with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity.
* Excluding the false statements, the remainder of the affidavit would not have established probable cause to arrest.<ref>[[Franks v. Delaware|Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978)]]</ref>

===Description of arrestee===
The arrest warrant must, to comply with the Fourth Amendment, "particularly describe" the person to be seized. If the arrest warrant does not contain such a description, it is invalid—even if the affidavit submitted by the police or the warrant application contained this information.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-811.ZO.html|title=GROH V. RAMIREZ}}</ref>

===Mittimus===
A ''mittimus'' ({{langx |la| mittimus | translation = we send}}) is a [[writ]] issued by a court or [[magistrate]], directing the [[sheriff]] or other executive officer to convey the person named in the writ to a prison or jail, and directing the jailor to receive and imprison the person.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miller|first1=K.W.|title=Is There a Constitutional Right to a Speedy Probable Cause Hearing? |journal=New England Journal on Crime and Civil Confinement |date=Winter 1990 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=121–139}}</ref>

Police [[jargon]] sometimes refers to such a writs as a [[Capias ad respondendum| "writ of capias"]], defined as orders to "take" (or "capture") a person or assets. {{linktext|Capias}} writs are often issued when a suspect fails to appear for a scheduled adjudication, hearing, or similar proceeding.

=== Bench warrant ===<!-- Other articles link here. -->
A bench warrant is a summons issued from "the bench" (a judge or court) directing the police to arrest someone who must be brought before a specific judge<ref>{{cite web|title=Glossary of Court Terms|publisher=Maryland Courts|url=http://www.courts.state.md.us/reference/glossary.html|access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref> either for [[contempt of court]] or for failing to appear in court as required. Unlike a basic arrest warrant, a bench warrant is not issued to initiate a criminal action.<ref name=SCJD>{{cite web|title=Warrants|publisher=South Carolina Judicial Department|url=http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/summaryCourtBenchBook/HTML/CriminalC.htm|access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref>

For example, if a defendant is released on bail or under recognizance and misses a scheduled court appearance, or if a witness whose testimony is required in court does not appear as required by a subpoena, a bench warrant may be issued for that person's arrest.<ref name="brevard">See, e.g., {{cite web|title=FAQ's|url=http://brevardclerk.us/faq-s|website=Clerk of the Court|publisher=Brevard County, Florida|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref> In cases where a bench warrant is issued to arrest someone who posted [[bail]] and subsequently missed their court date, once they are rearrested and brought before the judge, the judge may raise the bail amount or revoke it completely.<ref name="brevard" />

If a law enforcement officer stops an individual with an outstanding bench warrant against him, the person may be detained on the warrant, and may be held in jail until bond is posted or a hearing is held on the warrant. The hearing may result in the court setting a new bail amount, new conditions, and a new court appearance date.<ref name="brevard" /> If a criminal defendant is arrested on a bench warrant, the court may determine that the person is a flight risk (likely to flee the jurisdiction) and order that person held without bail.<ref name="brevard" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mamalian|first1=Cynthia A.|title=State of the Science of Pretrial Risk Assessment|url=http://www.pacenterofexcellence.pitt.edu/documents/PJI_State_of_the_Science_Pretrial_Risk_Assessment_(2011).pdf|website=Pennsylvania Mental Health and Justice Center of Excellence|access-date=13 August 2017|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215134039/http://www.pacenterofexcellence.pitt.edu/documents/PJI_State_of_the_Science_Pretrial_Risk_Assessment_(2011).pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Outstanding arrest warrant===
An arrest warrant is an "outstanding arrest warrant" when the person named in the warrant has not yet been arrested. A warrant may be outstanding if the person named in the warrant is [[fugitive|intentionally evading law enforcement]], unaware that there is a warrant out for their arrest, the agency responsible for executing the warrant has a backlog of warrants to serve, or a combination of these factors.

Some jurisdictions have a very high number of outstanding warrants. The vast majority in American jurisdictions are for traffic related (non-violent) citations. The state of [[California]] in 1999 had around 2.5 million outstanding warrants, with nearly 1 million of them in the [[Los Angeles]] area.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/06/22/MN09FRO.DTL&type=chart When Justice Goes Unserved / Thousands wanted on outstanding warrants – but law enforcement largely ignores them]. Sfgate.com (22 June 1999). Retrieved on 2011-05-29.</ref> The city of [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]] had 100,000 as of 2007.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-xpm-2011-01-19-bs-md-prince-georges-homicides-20110119-story.html|title=Prince George's police close 4 of year's 12 homicides|author=Matt Zapotosky, ''The Washington Post''|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref> [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]] had 49,000 in 1996.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081014135720/http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2003-12-09/cover_story2.html Countless Fugitives], Gambit Communications, Inc., 12 September 2003</ref> The state of [[Texas]] in 2009 had at least 1.7 million outstanding warrants in the Houston area alone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1.7 million warrants out in Houston area |url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/1-7-million-warrants-out-in-Houston-area-1736210.php |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=chron.com|date=9 August 2009 }}</ref>

Some jurisdictions have laws placing various restrictions on persons with outstanding warrants, such as prohibiting renewal of one's [[driver's license]]<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web |title=Texas Driver License and ID Cards Online Services Eligibility |url=https://txapps.texas.gov/tolapp/txdl/eligibility.dl |website=Texas Department of Public Safety |publisher=State of Texas |access-date=18 January 2023}}</ref> or obtaining a [[passport]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ehrlich |first1=Thomas |title=Passports |journal=Stanford Law Review |date=1966 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=129–149 |doi=10.2307/1227050 |jstor=1227050 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kassem |first1=Ramzi |title=Passport Revocation as Proxy Denaturalization: Examining the Yemen Cases |journal=Fordham Law Review |date=2013 |volume=82 |page=2099}}</ref>