Mississippi outstanding warrants are issued by magistrates who have the power to preside over criminal matters. The police will approach the tribunal with an affidavit that explains the criminal occurrence and the role of the suspect in this act. The purpose of this exercise is to prove it to the magistrate that the evidence is indeed enough to hold the accused responsible for the crime.
Often, the circumstantial evidence stated in the writ is all it takes to reach this conclusion. However, sometimes, the witnesses have to be heard to make this determination. The important thing to understand here is that an arrest warrant cannot be issued without ascertaining probable cause.
Why the probable cause requirement for the issue of arrest
warrants?
A custodial detention infringes on the right of freedom guaranteed to every citizen by the constitution of the United States, so the police and the courts need to have very good reason to order that a person be detained. In case of felonies, this determination is made by the police.
So, if they do have reasonable cause to believe that a felonious act was committed and it was the handy work of the accused, they can make arrests without warrants. On the other hand, if they approach the court for the issue of an arrest warrant, the ruling authority is the magistrate but once again he is deciding on the availability of probable cause against the accused.
As far as the issue of MS active warrants is concerned, the magistrate is not acting on behalf of the police; au contraire, the job of the judge is to find out if the police have enough reason to call for the interference of the state in a matter. So, it would be wrong to assume that cops always walk away with an arrest warrant in hand.
What happens after the issue of outstanding warrants in Mississippi?
The police rush to execute these orders because they are treated as priority legal tools. In fact, arrest warrants are not just aimed at the local police but at law enforcement agents from all across the country. Particularly, if the matter in question is a felony, the accused can be taken into custody in any state or county and then deported back to the area in which the warrant was released.
MS arrest warrants do not expire; this means that an order for detention can prevail in the system for decades and yet have the same powers as if it were issued the day before. These directives can be put to use at any time of the day or night and a certain degree of force can be used to bring offenders in.
Who keeps information on Mississippi outstanding warrants?
The police as well as the judiciary have information on MS arrest records and warrants. To access this data, you can go to the office of the local sheriff or the county clerk. Alternatively, you can connect with the state judiciary. To use the web tool of the justice network, go to https://courts.ms.gov/appellate_courts/generaldocket.html or you can contact the administrative office of the courts at P.O. Box 249, Jackson, MS 39205.
Although a warrant search can also be initiated through the Mississippi Department of Health; this agency offers fingerprint inquiries which are open only to certain legislatively authorized entities. Finally, you could always look at the most wanted lists posted on the websites of the police departments of various counties. Some of the agencies that offer this facility have been listed below.
- Mississippi Department of Public Safety: http://www.dps.state.ms.us/crime-investigation/bureau-of-investigation/mississippis-most-wanted/
- DEA: https://www.dea.gov/fugitives/no/no_div_list.shtml
- Jones County: http://www.jonesso.com/disclaimer.php?id=2
- Kemper County: http://www.kempercountysheriff.com/wanted.php
- Lee County: http://leecosheriff.com/category/lee-county-most-wanted/
- Wayne County: http://www.waynecoso.org/mw/
- George County: http://www.georgecountymssheriff.com/wanted.php
- Desoto County: http://www.desotomssheriff.com/Resources/DeSotosMostWanted.aspx
- Adams County: http://www.adamscosheriff.org/most-wanted-list/