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What is the difference between a federal and state-level warrant?
Contents
Federal vs. State Warrants: What’s the Difference?
First Things First: What is a Warrant Anyway?
A warrant is basically a legal document that gives law enforcement permission to arrest someone or search and seize property. There are a few different types of warrants, but today we’re just focusing on arrest warrants.
An arrest warrant means the police can legally take someone into custody and bring them before a judge. These are issued when prosecutors have probable cause to believe someone committed a crime.
Probable cause just means there’s enough reasonable evidence to suggest the person was involved in criminal activity. It’s a pretty low bar – not as high as “beyond a reasonable doubt” which is used at trial.
Okay, now that we’ve got the warrant basics down, let’s dive into the federal vs. state differences!
Federal Warrants
Federal warrants are issued for violations of federal law. This includes things like:
- Federal tax crimes
- Federal drug crimes
- Kidnapping
- Bank robbery
- Counterfeiting
- Mail and wire fraud
- Child pornography
Basically any crime that violates federal statutes rather than state laws. The FBI, DEA, ATF, and other federal agencies execute these warrants.
Pros:
- More resources/manpower
- Can be enforced across state lines
Cons:
- Involve federal prosecution which can be more complex
- Potentially higher sentences
State Warrants
State warrants are issued for breaking state laws or local ordinances. Things like:
- Assault
- Burglary
- DUIs
- Drug possession
- Probation violations
Local police and sheriff’s departments carry out these warrants.
Pros:
- Usually less complex prosecution
- Potentially lower sentences
Cons:
- Limited to in-state enforcement
- Fewer resources than federal agencies
How Are Warrants Issued?
For both federal and state warrants, prosecutors must present evidence to a judge or magistrate to show probable cause that the person committed a crime.
If the judge agrees there’s probable cause, they’ll issue an arrest warrant. This authorizes police to arrest the suspect and bring them in for booking and bail consideration.
State warrants are issued by state-level judges and magistrates. Federal warrants are issued by US federal judges/magistrates.
One exception – state judges can issue warrants for federal fugitives if the US Attorney gets involved. But usually federal warrants come from federal judges.
What Happens After Arrest?
Once arrested on a warrant, the suspect is booked into custody (jail). At the initial appearance, a judge reviews the charges and sets bail.
If it’s a federal warrant, the first court appearance will be in federal court. State warrant? The suspect goes before a state judge first.
Later, there will be preliminary hearings to evaluate if there’s enough evidence to justify the charges. Ultimately it leads to either dismissal of charges or a criminal trial.
The prosecution process differs quite a bit between the federal and state systems. We don’t have room to get into all those details here, but let me know if you want a follow-up article on that!
Out-of-State Warrants
Things get tricky when warrants cross state lines. Generally, state warrants only have power within the issuing state.
If a suspect flees to another state, the agency must request their arrest through an extradition process. The new state can choose whether to cooperate.
Federal warrants don’t have this problem – they can be enforced nationwide. A US Marshal can pursue a fugitive across state borders without extradition.
One more exception: In some cases, a state can issue a governor’s warrant to retrieve a suspect from another state by requesting extradition directly from governor to governor.
Search vs Arrest Warrants
Before we wrap up, quick note on search warrants. These give police authority to search property and seize evidence.
Search warrants follow a similar process but are issued under different legal standards. Probable cause applies to the place/items, not the suspect themselves.
I’ll have to save the details on search warrants for another day!