Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
24/7 Help:
(866) 361-0010
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
Call Us NowPosted on
We find that there is alot of confusion out there about the different types of warrants. For example, a bench warrant is entirely different from a search warrant. In this article, we will try to provide some clarification.
There are five common types of warrants used in the criminal justice system. These are:
For general information purposes, the term “warrant” refers to an order that allows or directs a person to take some type of action. The order most often comes from a judge (in the form of a court order) and directs a police officer or law enforcement to act in some way.
A judge issues an arrest warrant upon a showing of probable cause that you were engaged in criminal activity or committed a criminal offense outside the presence of a police officer.
According to the criminal laws of most states, judges issue arrest warrants based on:
Once an officer receives an arrest warrant, the officer usually must execute it and make an arrest.1 If the officer willfully fails to do so, the officer may be prosecuted for “contempt of court.”2
If there is already an outstanding warrant for your arrest, a criminal defense lawyer can take steps to try to prevent you from remaining in police custody (upon a lawful arrest). For example, an attorney can accompany you to court and request that a judge release you:
A search warrant is a court order that allows law enforcement to search a particular place for evidence of a crime.
If the search discovers evidence, the police can seize it so prosecutors can use it in the defendant’s criminal case.3
Note that, to issue a search warrant, a judge must have probable cause that the locations to be searched contain evidence or fruits of criminal activity.
Note that the Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures. An unreasonable search and seizure is one executed without:
But not all legal searches require a search warrant.
If a search was illegal, any evidence found can be suppressed and excluded from your trial.
Please keep in mind that a criminal defense attorney can help clients challenge a search warrant by filing a motion to “quash and traverse” the warrant. The motion essentially questions the affidavit that served as the basis for the issuance of the search warrant.4
A bench warrant in most states is a court order that instructs law enforcement personnel to detain you and hold you in custody until you can be brought before a judge to answer for defying a court order.
The warrant is often issued after you:
Once brought to court, the judge can either:
If you are subject to a bench warrant, you can attend a bench warrant hearing to try and recall or quash the warrant. You usually have the right to be represented by a defense lawyer at these court hearings.
Most state courts will not recall or drop an outstanding warrant on their own. Further, bench warrants do not expire after a certain amount of time. They usually remain in effect until the person subject to the warrant dies.
An extradition warrant is a warrant issued for the arrest of an accused fugitive. An accused fugitive is a person that commits a specific crime in one state, but then leaves that state.
If you are arrested in another jurisdiction, you are usually extradited back to the state where you committed an offense to face justice proceedings.
In most states, the Governor of the state issues an extradition warrant after receiving an application to extradite. “Extradition” itself refers to the legal process of transporting suspected or convicted criminals from one state to another.
A judge usually issues an alias warrant when you fail to either:
Alias warrants usually arise if you violate your promise to appear in court for a matter.
Note that when a court issues a summons (or an order to appear in court), usually for misdemeanor charges, you are required to sign an agreement to appear in court at the designated time.
For example, if you sign a traffic citation, this counts as your promise to appear in court.
If you break your promise and do not appear, a judge will issue an alias warrant.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.