Rule 3.1 Issuance of Arrest Warrant or Summons

# Rule 3.1: Getting an Arrest Warrant or Summons

When a judge decides there is probable cause to believe someone committed a crime, the judge must quickly issue either an arrest warrant or a summons. A summons is basically an order telling someone to show up in court, while an arrest warrant lets police take the person into custody. If the same charge has already been reviewed and probable cause was found, the judge still moves forward with issuing one of these documents. It's also possible for more than one warrant or summons to come from the same charging paperwork.

Judges have a choice between a summons and a warrant in some cases. A judge can choose to issue just a summons instead of a warrant if the person is not already in custody, the charge is one where bail is guaranteed by law, and there's no good reason to think the person will ignore the summons and skip court. This gives people a chance to handle the charge without being arrested first.

If a summons doesn't work out, the judge will then issue an arrest warrant instead. This happens if the person fails to show up after being summoned, if the judge has reason to believe the person won't show up, or if the summons simply can't be delivered to them for any reason.

Finally, this rule does not change how traffic tickets and citations work. Misdemeanor traffic violations are still handled the way they always have been, under separate laws that specifically cover traffic offenses.