Also known as: arrest warrants · warrant of arrest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A judicial order directing a law-enforcement officer to arrest a named person and bring that person before the court. The order issues only upon a complaint or affidavits establishing probable cause that an offense occurred and that the defendant committed it.
A judicial order directing a law-enforcement officer to arrest a named person and bring that person before the court. The order issues only upon a complaint or affidavits establishing probable cause that an offense occurred and that the defendant committed it.
Officers suspected Alfred Ashford of a nonviolent fraud offense and learned he was at his residence. Without an arrest warrant they entered the home to take him into custody. The entry violated the requirement that officers first obtain a warrant and confirm the suspect's presence inside before a nonemergency home arrest.
A judicial order directing the seizure of specified property, typically a vessel or cargo, to commence or secure an in rem admiralty action.
A judicial order directing the seizure of specified property, typically a vessel or cargo, to commence or secure an in rem admiralty action.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A federal prosecutor presented a complaint and supporting affidavit to a magistrate alleging that Angela Acosta committed wire fraud. The affidavit detailed specific transactions and communications linking Acosta to the scheme. The magistrate issued an arrest warrant because the documents established probable cause that an offense had occurred and that Acosta committed it.
An officer conducted an unlawful traffic stop of Andrew Avery and learned during the encounter that Avery had an outstanding arrest warrant for an unrelated drug offense. The officer arrested Avery on the warrant and found drugs during a search incident to arrest. The preexisting warrant attenuated the taint of the illegal stop, rendering the evidence admissible.
Officers arrested Abigail Alvarez without a warrant on suspicion of embezzlement and held her pending a hearing. The prosecutor filed a complaint establishing probable cause. The magistrate reviewed the complaint at the initial appearance to determine whether continued detention was justified.
Police arrested Albert Allen on an outstanding warrant while he was being transported after an unrelated encounter. During the ride Allen directed officers to the location of a victim's body. The arrest on the warrant supported the subsequent statements under the inevitable-discovery doctrine.
Alan Ackerman faced pending state criminal charges after arrest on a warrant and sought a federal injunction to halt the prosecution. The federal court declined to interfere because the state proceedings provided an adequate opportunity to raise constitutional claims concerning the warrant.
The warrant must name or describe the defendant, describe the offense charged in the complaint, direct that the defendant be arrested and brought before a judicial officer, and be signed by the issuing judge.
Absent exigent circumstances, officers must have an arrest warrant and reason to believe the suspect is inside before making a nonemergency entry into the suspect's own home.
No. When the warrant is unconnected to the stop and the officer's conduct is at most negligent, the warrant can constitute an intervening circumstance that attenuates the taint and permits admission of evidence found during the subsequent lawful arrest.
The complaint or supporting affidavits must establish probable cause to believe an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it. Once that showing is made and the government requests a warrant, the judge must issue it.
…had offered to prove that their offices had been raided and all their files and records seized pursuant to search and arrest warrants that were later summarily vacated by a state judge for lack of probable cause. They also offered to prove that despite the state court order quashing the warrants and suppressing the…