Indiana Warrant Search – Outstanding & Active Warrants in IN

Grounds for indictment, the importance of probable cause and the conditions for the issue of an arrest warrant are defined by section 35-33-2-1 of the Indiana Penal Code. Pursuant to this law, if an indictment is filed against a person and if he has not already been detained by the police or is not otherwise in judicial custody, the magistrate is to issue an active warrant in his name immediately.

In case of an indictment, even when an application for such a warrant has not been submitted and probable cause cannot be verified, the tribunal shall still order the arrest of this person. However, if the prosecution has not sought an indictment, the police can merely file a petition in court for an arrest order.

For the issue of a warrant in such a scenario, the proof presented before the magistrate along with any witness testimony available has to be enough to ascertain probable cause before a warrant can be granted to the cops. Simply put, the conditions laid down by this code for the issue of a detention directive can be summed up as follows- No arrest warrant can be issued in the state of Indiana unless:

• An indictment has been found which charges a person with commissioning a criminal act
• The judge has determined that there is probable cause to hold a person on suspicion of committing a crime

Not only active orders for arrest but also search warrants have to be based on the establishment of probable cause. In contrast, bench warrants can be issued without the police having to file an affidavit in court. Because these decrees are issued when the defendant fails to honor a court order, the warrant can be issued on the knowledge of the magistrate that a criminal act has been committed.

Indiana arrest warrants

An outstanding warrant from Indiana will have a fixed format and will include information about the issuing entity as well as the person who is to be arrested. In terms of the former, the warrant will have a mention of the county and the date on which the order was issued along with the signature of the magistrate and a clear indication of the fact that the directive has been issued on behalf of the state of Indiana.

As far as the arrestee goes, the document will contain information that will help cops to apprehend him like the name of this person, any discerning traits like tattoos, etc, address, gender and race. Apart from this, the charges that are being sought against this individual will also be stated in the arrest warrant. Finally, the document will have an explicit order directed at law enforcement officials to arrest the person in question.

Summons and arrest warrants: What is the difference in these two?

Like other judicial orders issued by the Indiana tribunals, such as search warrants and bench orders for arrest, summons differ widely from an arrest directive issued in a criminal case. The most striking difference in these two judicial provisions is that a summons is an order to the defendant to appear in court while a warrant is an order issued to the cops to apprehend the suspect and bring him before the bench.

Generally, it is the norm for a summons to be issued if the affiant is not a police officer. However, if the defendant fails to obey the summons and show up in court, a warrant will promptly be issued on its heels.

Looking for information on IN arrest warrants

You can find arrest records on cases that have already resulted in conviction through the Indiana DOC website or the list of the most wanted for your county. However, it can be slightly tricky to get your hands on information pertaining to active and outstanding warrants. Although Indiana is an open record state, only information that is part of the public domain is disseminated in response to a civilian inquiry.

If you are looking for past arrest records and warrants, try the Department of Corrections website at http://www.in.gov/apps/indcorrection/ofs/ofs. They have an inmate locator tool that can find a prisoner through any of the state correctional facilities.

For information on background check and crime history including arrests, you will have to approach the Indiana State Police. At this time, the agency offers a name based search which can be initiated by sending a completed request form through mail or by using their online service. To download the form, go to http://www.in.gov/ai/appfiles/isp-lch/Adult%20Criminal%20History%20Check%204-2008.pdfand send a $7 check with the completed form to Criminal History Limited Check, PO Box 6188, Indianapolis, IN 46206. For using their online tool, you can visit https://secure.in.gov/apps/isp/lch/?agree=0.

If you are interested in court records whether from the civil or criminal tribunals, it would help to go to the office of the clerk of court. This department is in charge of handling the court dockets and through these written session transcripts, you can find details on all legal provisions including arrest warrants issued in Indiana.