A public warrant is a legal document available to the public that details the name of the subject and reason for the warrant. It is suspended until resolved and can be challenged if falsely named. Sealed warrants are only available to law enforcement and contain sensitive information. Public records can be searched online for free or for a fee.
A public warrant is a legal act issued by a judge that is a matter of public record. Anyone who examines public documents can view the mandate and the details contained therein. Conversely, a sealed warrant is only available to law enforcement and certain authorized personnel. Judges issue a public warrant when there are no compelling reasons to withhold any of the information on the document.
Arrest, search and execution warrants can be made public. The public warrant details the name of the subject and the reason for the warrant. In addition to being transcribed in the public documents, the document is also sent to the databases of the police forces. Law enforcement officers can look for outstanding warrants when making routine traffic disruptions, and the database will tell them if a person is the subject of a warrant.
The public mandate is considered suspended until the resolution of the matter. Once the warrant has been successfully served, the warrant is no longer considered pending and the next step of the legal process can begin. Individuals have the right to look into warrants issued in their name and can challenge a warrant that falsely names them or uses incorrect or false information as a reason for issuing the writ. For example, if an illegal search results in a warrant for an arrest, the individual can challenge the warrant by arguing that the evidence used to request the writ was not lawfully obtained.
There are a few reasons a warrant may be sealed. If issuing the warrant publicly would alert a suspect and allow him time to escape or destroy evidence, the warrant can be sealed. Likewise, if a warrant contains sensitive or incriminating information such as the name of a rape victim or information relating to national security, it will be sealed. When a sealed warrant is issued, it will enter law enforcement databases, but not public records.
Members of the public can examine public records to look for public warrants among many other things. Some people may be concerned about the potential for warrants issued in their name, or may be interested in doing a background check on someone to look for a public warrant or other information about someone’s criminal history. Public archive searches have been made very easy with the assistance of the Internet. Many police departments and courts make their public information freely available online. For a fee, people can also access sites that contain large databases of aggregated public information.
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