A Colorado active warrant is only issued when the local court is approached by the sheriff department. Cops have to present all the evidence collected in the case before the tribunal, in the form of an affidavit. This is closely studied to ascertain that there is enough reason to suspect the person in question. To understand the process of warrant issue, it helps to look at Rule 4 of the Colorado Criminal Code.
It states that a warrant is issued in response to the filing of a felony complaint, in the absence of a writ that forms the basis of the pre warrant hearing, sworn testimony also works. However, such testimony has to be offered in writing and it has to be signed by the witness under oath. Active warrants are generally only issued in Class 1,2 and 3 felonies and in case of unclassified felonies that are punishable by a prison term of no less than 10 years.
Except in such matters, it is normal for the magistrate to issue summons in lieu of a warrant unless of course it is clear to the magistrate that if the said individual is not legally detained, there is a very real risk of him fleeing the county.
When requesting a warrant, the police are required to furnish the name of the accused, his employment, family relationships, past crime history and response to summons and other legal processes. An arrest warrant will always be a written order with the signature of the judge on it. The name of the defendant and other personal identifiers will also be included along with an explicit command to apprehend this person.
Ac active warrant issued in a felony is devoid of geographical and time limits. This simply means that the order can be executed in any area of the United States and at any time after its release, be it day or night or even months after its issue.
Looking for Colorado active warrants through local state agencies
It is possible to approach the sheriff’s office or even the county clerk’s department for a warrant search. While it would be decidedly simpler if all local law enforcement agencies were to provide an online tool for a warrant search, this facility is only available on the official sites of the sheriff’s departments of some counties such as:
- Adams: http://www.adcogov.org/
- Weld: https://www.weldsheriff.com/community/warrants
You can also find information on warrants through the court dockets directory hosted by the Colorado state judiciary. To use their online search tool, go to https://www.colorado.gov/cicjis
These are name based searches that are charged at $7 maximum per inquiry. The system is designed to provide residents of Colorado easy and quick access to real time court records. To seek information on arrest warrants, you will have to furnish the first and last name of the subject.
Depending on how common your search criteria are, you may be offered multiple results; that is information on more than one offender who meets your inquiry parameters. However, if you have additional information about the subject like a physical description or a photograph, date of birth, etc, it can be very easy to identify the person you’re looking for through the dozens of names in the report.
Regardless of whether your query brings back the desired results or not, you will have to pay the fee. You can pay through a credit or debit card and a proper invoice will be sent to you. Finally, you can also look for online warrant records through a third party site like this one. Look at the form given above; filing it will get you access to a privately hosted database of arrest records from all over the nation.