TexasArrestWarrantRecords.com

Texas Warrants
A warrant in Texas is defined as a written order issued by a judge that gives law enforcement the authority to arrest an individual or to perform an act of justice in upholding the law. Warrants come in various types and different warrants serve different functions. Most commonly, police use arrest warrants to apprehend a suspect and take him or her into custody or use a search warrant to search property for evidence of a crime. You may also get a warrant for failure to appear in court if you missed a scheduled court date or to enforce fines not paid to the state.

For our purposes we will be talking about criminal warrants as they relate to the state of Texas. The most common types of warrants used in criminal cases are arrest warrants, bench warrants, blue warrants, and search warrants.

Arrest Warrants
As mentioned above an arrest warrant allows law officers to carry out the arrest of an individual suspected of a crime. It's a legal document signed by a judge once probable cause has been established. The purpose of an arrest warrant is to hold people accountable for crimes committed and to give each citizen the opportunity to prove their innocence one taken into custody. Just because you have been arrested doesn't mean you are guilty. As outlined in the U.S. Constitution every man is considered innocent until proven guilty. Once a warrant has been in effect for some time with no arrest it becomes an active or outstanding warrant. Basically, they yield the same power to arrest an individual whose name is on the warrant for a crime they are suspected of committing.

An arrest warrant is issued on the basis of a sworn affidavit proving that the accused person most likely committed a crime. The arrest warrant must identify the person to be arrested by name or other unique characteristics and describe the crime the person is being charged with. If the name is not known, the person will be described with identifying marks and physical attributes. This is sometimes called a "John Doe warrant" or a "no name warrant." This type of warrant allows for the arrest of a person whose name is unknown based on the physical appearance of a person who matches a similar profile.

Bench Warrants
Typically, a bench warrant is issued by the court system if a person is in contempt of court. This means a person didn't appear in court for their scheduled hearing, disobeyed a court subpoena to appear in court, or failed to comply with a court order. If a judge issues a bench warrant in your name it calls for your immediate arrest. Law enforcement has the authority to take you into custody and bring you before a judge to try and resolve the warrant and answer for the crime. Other instances where a bench warrant may be issued is when an indictment is handed down by a judge. An indictment is a written accusation of a person's guilt for a criminal act and is punishable by law. A bench warrant may also be referred to as a capias warrant or an alias warrant.

Search Warrants
A search warrant is a judicial court order making it legal for police or law enforcement to search a person's residence, place of work, vehicle, or personal belongings to obtain evidence in relation to a crime. The evidence found and collected is intended to be used in a criminal prosecution. Since a search warrant violates a person's right to privacy there must be probable cause to allow a search to be made. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution of the United States, states that persons have a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and that no warrants shall be issued unless there is probable cause supported by credible evidence in a court of law.

A search warrant can only be obtained by police officers submitting an affidavit along with evidence to a judge in the efforts to establish probable cause and that a search will yield evidence related to a crime. If satisfied that the evidence is valid and probable cause is established, the judge or magistrate will issue the search warrant. A search warrant must clearly state the place to be searched and/or the persons or items to be seized. The types of property for which a search warrant may be issued, are weapons, contraband, drug paraphernalia, and other instrumentalities used to carry out a crime.

Blue Warrants
In Texas, all individuals that complete a minimum prison sentence shall remain under court supervision and placed on parole after release. In order to get parole status, a prisoner must agree to and obey certain conditions set up by the court. These conditions may include gaining employment, community service and meetings with a parole officer. If a parolee in Texas has violated parole, law enforcement issues what is known as a blue warrant. The reason it's called a blue warrant is because traditionally, the warrant which calls for the immediate arrest of the violator, is enclosed in a blue jacket.

In essence blue warrants are issued when a parolee violates the terms of their parole agreement. A blue warrant may also be issued if a parolee commits another criminal offense, carries a firearm, or doesn't attend scheduled meetings with their parole officer. If you are a parolee who is arrested under a blue warrant you can be incarcerated until a judge decides what your punishment is gong to be.

If you appear in court to answer for a blue warrant the decision could be to reinstate parole, mandatory residence in a halfway house, intermediate changes to the conditions of parole terms, or parole revocation. The option of parole revocation means the parolee returns to prison to serve out the maximum sentence. There are many reasons parole may be revoked. Individuals who are flight risks, parolees who threatened witnesses and/or court officials, parolees who committed another crime while on parole, or who those are deemed a danger to society because of unsafe behavior while on parole are only a few. Take note, the person who violates Texas probation laws will be arrested and incarcerated without the possibility for release on bond and brought in front of a judge for a hearing in relation to the probation or parole that was violated.