I have an “arrest warrant” in California. What do I do next?

In California, the police can arrest you for committing a crime with or without a warrant.

If you get arrested without a warrant, it is most likely because you allegedly committed a crime in an officer’s presence (a DUI, for example).

If an officer suspects that you committed a crime (such as after an investigation), the officer can go to a judge and ask that an arrest warrant be issued.

Do you know or think you have an active warrant for your arrest in California? If so, contact us immediately and see our page on conducting a warrant search. We can determine

1. whether there is a warrant,
2. what it is for, and
3. the amount of bail.

Sometimes we can take you directly to court and get the arrest warrant cleared without you having to spend time in jail.

In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics re. arrest warrants.

• 1. What are arrest warrants?
• 2. Who issues them?
• 3. Do I have one?
• 4. Arrest Rules
• 5. If You Are Out-Of-State
• 6. Bail
• 7. Preventing Warrants
• 8. Fighting Warrants
• 9. Other Warrants
• Additional Resources

1. What are arrest warrants?

A California arrest warrant authorizes law enforcement officers to arrest and detain you if they suspect you of committing a crime outside of an officer’s presence.

Judges issue arrest warrants based on:

• evidence presented to them by a peace officer and/or a District Attorney or
• following a grand jury indictment.

To be valid, a California arrest warrant must include:

• your name,
• the crime which you are accused of committing,
• the time of issuance,
• the city or county of issuance,
• the signature and title of the judge, and
• the name of the court.¹

2. Who issues them?

California judges issue arrest warrants by one of two ways: 1) After a declaration or 2) After a grand jury indictment.

1) After a Declaration

Judges may issue arrest warrants based on the declaration of an officer and/or District Attorney, who must demonstrate “probable cause” that you committed a crime.⁶ “Probable cause” means there is a reasonable belief that criminal activity is taking place.

Note that most arrest warrants are issued after prosecutors file charges. An arrest warrant issued before charges are filed is referred to as a Ramey warrant.

2) After a Grand Jury Indictment

Judges may issue a warrant for your arrest after a grand jury indicts you by finding probable cause to believe that you committed the alleged offense. The majority of cases do not involve grand juries.²

3. Do I have one?

To check if a California judge has issued a warrant for your arrest, you can check:

• the local sheriff’s website,
• the local court’s website, or
• the website of the Superior Court of California.

You can also run a criminal background check on yourself to see if a warrant is pending.

Further, you can always consult with a criminal defense attorney. We not only conduct a warrant search but also advise you on the best way to handle the warrant if it exists.

4. Arrest Rules

When a judge issue an arrest warrant in California, the police must execute it. This section discusses the many rules police have to abide by when conducting arrests.

Arrests at a Residence

If police have a warrant for your arrest, they will likely try to arrest you at your home. If you refuse to open the door after they announced their presence, they can force their way in as long as they have probable cause to believe you are inside.

If the police are attempting to arrest a guest in your home, they must have a search warrant unless a lawful exception applies.³

A Copy of the Warrant

Officers executing an arrest warrant do not have to have an actual copy of it as long as they were informed about it.⁴ An example is when an officer stops you for a traffic violation and, after running your driver’s license, learns that you have an outstanding warrant.

A Summons in Lieu of an Arrest

If you are suspected of a crime, sometimes a prosecutor will summon you to court rather than have you arrested. This is where you are served with or mailed a notice ordering you to appear in court at a future date.

Summons in lieu of an arrest are more common in cases where you have no outstanding warrants, and you are accused of only misdemeanors or non-violent felonies.⁵

“Cite and Release”

Most misdemeanors fall under the “cite and release” category. This is where you do not get arrested or go through a formal booking process (of fingerprinting, booking photos, etc); rather, you get released based on a promise that you will appear before the judge on a specific date and time.

However, you will be formally arrested if:

• you are suspected of domestic violence or drunk driving,
• there is already an outstanding arrest warrant for your arrest, or
• you cannot provide satisfactory evidence of your identification.⁶

Timing of the Arrest

If police fail to arrest you within a reasonable time of the warrant’s issuance, your attorney can bring a “Serna Motion“arguing that the delay violated your “right to a speedy trial.”

If you can prove that you were prejudiced by the amount of time that passed and that the police/prosecution were mostly to blame for that lapse, your charges would be dismissed.

Typical proof that you were prejudiced by the delay is that key witnesses are unavailable to testify or that their memories have faded.

Time of Day of the Arrest

In California, felony warrants may be executed at any time. Misdemeanor warrants, however, may only be executed between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. unless

• the arrest is made in a public place,
• you are already “in custody” on another lawful matter, or
• the judge states in the warrant that it may be executed at any time.

Once you have been arrested, the state must place you before the judge “without unnecessary delay,” which typically means within 48 hours of your arrest (excluding Sundays and holidays).⁷

Location of Arrest

If you get arrested in a county other than the one in which your arrest warrant was issued, the arresting officer must, without unnecessary delay, inform you of your right to be placed before a judge in the county in which you were arrested.

If you choose that option, your bail will be the amount that was specified in your arrest warrant. If you post bail, you will then be directed to appear before the judge who issued your warrant on a certain date within 25 days.

Otherwise, if either:

• your felony arrest warrant does not specify bail, or
• you do not post bail, or
• you do not demand to appear before a judge in the county in which you were arrested,

you will be transported to the county in which your warrant was issued within a maximum of five court days.⁸

5. If You Are Out-Of-State

If you know that you have a California arrest warrant and you flee, you will be considered a “fugitive from justice.” Fugitives are subject to extradition (being transported by law enforcement back to California) and increased penalties for fleeing.

On the other hand, if you did not know about your warrant, you may not be considered a fugitive. This may alter when and how you are brought back to California to face your pending charges.

The laws regulating extradition are complex and technical. Before you can be extradited, you are entitled to a hearing to contest the process.⁹ Consulting with an experienced criminal defense attorney is critical when challenging an extradition order.

6. Bail

When issuing a California arrest warrant, the judge is supposed to specify your bail on the warrant itself. The few crimes that preclude bail are:

• capital crimes (where you could receive the death penalty),
• felony offenses involving violence or sexual assault if it is likely that another would be harmed if you were released, or
• felony offenses where you threatened another with great bodily harm, and it is likely that you would carry out that threat if you were released.

If you post bail, you will get released. In some cases, we may be able to convince the judge to lower your bail or release you on your own recognizance (otherwise known as an “O.R.” release). An O.R. release means that you do not pay bail as long as you promise to show up to all future court appearances.

Note that you cannot be incarcerated in California solely because you cannot afford bail. Instead, the state must present “clear and convincing” evidence that your detention is necessary to protect public safety.¹⁰

7. Preventing Warrants

If you are under investigation for a crime, we can often take measures to try to prevent a warrant from being issued. We call this a “pre-file investigation.”

For example, we can investigate the case and marshal up evidence that supports your innocence. We would then present our position to the prosecutors and sometimes dissuade them from ever filing criminal charges.

If charges do get filed, we can go with you directly to court so you avoid getting arrested at home or at work. Appearing in court voluntarily wins favor with the judge, who will then be more likely to lower your bail or grant you O.R.

8. Fighting Warrants

If your arrest warrant was issued unlawfully (for example, without a “probable cause declaration”) you could still be held on criminal charges. However, we could argue that any evidence that was obtained following that illegal arrest should be excluded from trial.¹¹

Similarly, if your warrant was illegally executed (for example, the police arrested you outside of the permissible hours), your case would not automatically be thrown out. However, if we can convince the judge the officer’s misconduct prejudiced your case, the D.A. may offer a more favorable plea bargain.

The bottom line is this: If we can get enough evidence excluded (even if the exclusion is only based on “technicalities”), your chances of having your charges reduced or dismissed increase dramatically.

Note that we also have the option of filing a writ of habeas corpus on your behalf, which alerts the judge that you believe you have been unlawfully incarcerated (for example, due to a mistaken identity). This then gives us an advanced opportunity to present evidence at a hearing.

9. Other Warrants

The following table compares and contrasts arrest warrants to search warrants and bench warrants in California.

Type of Warrant	Purpose	Issued By	Based On
Arrest Warrant	To arrest a person suspected of committing a crime.	Judge or Magistrate	Probable cause to believe someone committed a crime
Search Warrant	To search a specific location for specific evidence of a crime.	Judge or Magistrate	Probable cause to believe evidence is present
Bench Warrant	To arrest someone who failed to appear in court or comply with court orders.	Judge	Failure to appear in court or follow court orders

Additional Resources

For more information, refer to the following:

• National Crime Information Center – The FBI’s centralized database for accessing criminal justice information, including warrants.
• SearchQuarry.com – Public record provider with warrant searches by name, city or county.
• Vinelink.com – Free site to search for outstanding warrants and criminal records in participating states.
• PeopleFinders.com – Public records site providing warrant searches among other lookup services for a fee.
• CriminalWatchdog.com – Subscription service for continuous monitoring of criminal records and warrants.

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