Arrest Warrants in Florida

An Arrest Warrant, which is also known as a Capias in Florida, is a court order to arrest a person and take them into custody.

An Arrest Warrant can be issued for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are:

No-Bond and Bondable Warrants

When a judge issues an arrest warrant, the judge can either set a bond or order that the person be held on "No-Bond."

If a bond is set, the person can immediately bond out of jail immediately after being arrested by posting the bond amount and agreeing to appear at the next scheduled court date.

If the judge sets "No-Bond" (which is sometimes designated as NONE on a warrant check), the person cannot bond out of jail immediately after being arrested.

Instead, the person will either have to wait in jail until the next court date or schedule a Bond Hearing to try and persuade the judge to set a bond.

Determining if Warrant is Active

Determining whether you have an active warrant depends on whether the warrant was issued for suspicion of a new criminal offense or for a criminal case you have previously been arrested on.

Arrest Warrants for New Crimes

If the arrest warrant is for a new felony offense, the court case, and thus the arrest warrant, is generally sealed until the person is arrested or a lengthy period of time has passed since the issuance of the warrant.

The reason court file is initially sealed is to prevent potential suspects from evading arrest by becoming aware that an arrest warrant has been issued against them.

Arrest Warrant for Failure to Appear, Probation Violations

Unlike arrest warrants for new offenses, a person knows if they failed to appear for court or violated probation. As a result the court records for these cases are not sealed and a person can contact the Clerk of the Court to determine the status of the arrest warrant.

Contact Criminal Defense Lawyer Richard Hornsby

If you or a loved one have an outstanding arrest warrant, contact Criminal Defense Lawyer to assist you in clearing up the warrant or negotiating your surrender.

The initial consultation is free and I am always available to advise you on the proper course of action to take.