I called my township courhouse today , asked if i had any warrants , they ran statewide check and said i do not.
Someone else has told me only police know if you have warrants and no one is going to tell you if you do......................
So whats the deal ?
Also if i got pulled over for traffic stop , would i have been locked up if i had a warrant then ?

Couchcarrot

The answer to your question would depend on what jurisdiction (state, county, country)
you live in.

Here, you can take identification to the Hall of Justice (court) and
find out if you have any warrants at any time. The only problem with
that would be that there are always many police at the court, and
the clerk could alert them that you are there if the warrant is of
serious enough nature, or if it is an arrest warrant. Here, there are
summons warrants as well which are handled by mediation rather than
arrest. In my location, if you think you have an arrest warrant, you
should retain an attorney to go to court for you and have it put on the
docket for a trial date. That way you wouldn't risk being arrested on the spot.

If you are pulled over for any traffic offense and the officer runs
a warrant check, he would be obligated to arrest you in my area, if
it is an arrest warrant. Here, arrest warrants deal with criminal
acts ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. However, a
summons warrant could be issued for something ilke a complaint by a
neighbor about creating a noise disturbance, i.e., loud dog or
other personal disputes, other than domestic violence, which
would be on an arrest warrant basis. Such laws vary depending on the
jurisdiction, as I said before.

shadykorn

Well dont cops run warrant checks every time you are pulled over for speeding ?

And why do people tell me that police have different warrant records than the courthouses do

Do cops run warrant checks on you every time you get stopped for a traffic offense

Wondergirl

Yes. That's why there is a computer in every police car now. They don't have to call in to the station any more.

Couchcarrot

In response to your second question, police officers in the U.S. have access
to the same information that their courts do, whether they have in-vehicle
computers or not. The information comes from NCIC (NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice information (i.e.- criminal record history information, fugitives, stolen properties, missing persons) regardless of how it is obtained. "People" in general
are not a reliable source of info on subjects they have no education in or personal
knowledge about. Never rely on well-meaning hearsay as a source. If police
had different information, they would not be able to perform their jobs and
would not know whom exactly they are dealing with on the streets. Also, it
could open their department up to even more law suits, for example, if they
let a dangerous fugitive drive away because they didn't know his/her history
and then that person killed or endangered someone else.

And, yes, to the third question also. In my jurisdiction, police officers
immediately call in the license plate of the car they are stopping before
even approaching the car. Then upon asking for the license, registration
and proof of insurance, info from NCIC is obtained. If the person is
clear (no warrants), they either receive a ticket or warning. I know this
because I was not on the receiving end but was one of the people doing all of
the above, before completing over 20 years and getting my pension.

Couchcarrot

I forgot to mention that you can be arrested even if you are clear of warrants in
such cases as the officer receiving info that your license is suspended or that
the vehicle you are driving is stolen. I've had to arrest people who were
driving a friend's car and had no idea it was stolen. The driver gets arrested
anyway. In that case, the car is then searched, and if drugs or anything
else illegal is found, the driver is charged for that too, even if they honestly
didn't know it was in the glove compartment or in the trunk. And, let's
face it, the driver NEVER knows.

shadykorn

So if i got pulled over and just got a ticket and courts say i have no warrants, then i dont have any , correct ?

Wondergirl

Correct. But do you?

Couchcarrot

There is a short lag time (up to 48 hours), depending on how many warrants
are being taken out, before they are entered into the system. In that case,
a warrant when checked through the system wouldn't immediatly show up,
but it might show up later that day or within the next couple of days.

During the time I was a detective, we sometimes took out warrants
ourselves for suspects in our cases. Those tended to be
entered into the system immediately, because they were felony warrants
in most instances.

excon

Hello shady:

You assume the cops DO their jobs... I don't make that assumption. Certainly, some might. But, often times they have to decide between doing their job or getting doughnuts. Sometimes doughnuts win..

excon