Rule 4 Arrest Warrant or Summons Upon Complaint
Rule Text
(a) Issuance. If it appears from the complaint, or from an affidavit or affidavits filed with the complaint, that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant has committed it, a summons for the defendant shall issue to a policeman or some officer authorized by law to execute it. Upon the request of the attorney for the government, a warrant for the arrest of the defendant instead of a summons shall issue. More than one warrant or summons may issue on the same complaint. If a defendant fails to appear in response to the summons, a warrant shall issue.
(b) Probable Cause. The finding of probable cause may be based upon hearsay evidence in whole or in part
(c) Form.
(1) Warrant. The warrant shall be signed by a judge and shall contain the name of the defendant or, if his name is unknown, any name or description by which he can be identified with reasonable certainty. It shall command that the defendant be arrested and brought before a judge. The amount of bail may be fixed by the court and endorsed on the warrant.
(2) Summons. The summons shall be in the same form as the warrant except that it shall summon the defendant to appear before a judge at a stated time and place.
(d) Execution of Service: and Return.
(1) By Whom. The warrant shall be executed by a policeman or by some other officer authorized by law. The summons may be served by any person authorized to serve a summons in a civil action.
(2) Territorial Limits. The warrant may be executed or summons may be served at any place within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(3) Manner. The warrant shall be executed by the arrest of the defendant. The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest, but upon request he shall show the warrant to the defendant as soon as possible. If the officer does not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest, he shall then inform the defendant of the offense charged and of the fact that a warrant has been issued. The summons shall be served upon the defendant by delivering a copy thereof to the defendant personally, or by leaving it at the defendant's dwelling house or usual place of abode or business with some persons of suitable age and discretion then residing or employed therein. Reasonable attempts shall also be made to assure that the person served understands the meaning of the summons and what the person served is required to do.
( 4) Return. The officer executing a warrant shall make return thereof to the judge before whom the defendant is brought pursuant to Rule 5. At the request of the attorney for the government any unexecuted warrant shall be returned to the judge by whom it was issued and shall be cancelled by him. On or before the return day the person to whom a summons was delivered for service shall make return thereof to the judge before whom the summons is returnable. At the request of the attorney for the government made at any time while the complaint is pending, a warrant returned unexecuted and not cancelled or a summons returned unserved or a duplicate thereof may be delivered by the judge to the policeman or other authorized person for execution or service.