In Mississippi, active warrants are issued by a magistrate based on the written word presented before the bench by the police. The affidavit which comes from the office of the sheriff is meant to show that probable cause can be established on the basis of the evidence alone which points to the involvement of the accused in a criminal occurrence.
Although arrest warrants are among the most frequently granted legal orders in the state, the police don’t always need a warrant to detain an accused. Particularly, when the matter in question is felonious and the police have enough reason to believe that a certain individual commissioned the said act, they have the authority to effect arrests without going for a warrant.
When the offense in question is a misdemeanor, the police can only arrest an accused without a warrant if the crime has occurred in the presence of a peace officer.Also, escaped felons can be arrested without a warrant.
The jurisdiction of MS active warrants
The police are employees of specific municipalities and the state of Mississippi, so their jurisdiction does not end at the geographic limits of a certain county. This means that they have the powers to pursue a criminal outside the issuing area and even cross state lines in pursuit.
In fact, one of the advantages of procuring an outstanding warrant from MS is that law enforcement can garner the support of other justice agencies. Because information on pending arrest orders is relayed to all criminal justice agencies across the country, there are very good chances of the perpetrator being spotted and taken into custody.
Arrest warrants issued in one county of Mississippi are honored in all geographical divisions of the state. Furthermore, the arrestee can be detained in a county jail in any part of the state and then deported to the area in which the warrant against him was issued.
Although police officers are expected to respect the privacy and property ownership rights of citizens, they can access any premise when pursuing a criminal. All public areas within the state and even the home of the accused can be accessed to effect arrests. However, if the process involves barging into the home of a third party, cops will need a search warrant.
Arrests under warrants can be made at any time except for when the order for detention is issued in connection with a felony. In this scenario, the conditions for arrests will be mentioned on the warrant. However, generally, such directives can only be served from 6 am to 10 pm. Police officers can request the support of other law enforcement agents as well as civilians to apprehend criminals.
How to find Mississippi active warrants?
There are two ways to look for active warrants in MS, you can look at the websites of the sheriff’s departments mentioned below which offer warrant and most wanted lists or you can go to the state judiciary.
- Adams County: http://www.adamscosheriff.org/warrants.php
- Oktibbeha County: http://sheriff.oktibbeha.ms.us/mostwanted.html
- Waynesboro County: http://www.waynesboropolice.org/fines/
- Harrison County: http://www.harrisoncountysheriff.com/department-divisions/administrative-division/warrants-extradition/
The office of the court administrator can give you information on cases heard by trial as well as appellate courts. Information can be sought online as well by mail. To access court dockets through the website of the judiciary, go to https://courts.ms.gov/appellate_courts/generaldocket.html.You can write to the agency at:
Clerk of Appellate CourtsP.O. Box 249Jackson, MS 39205