An outstanding warrant means a trip to Fort Lauderdale, usually by jitney bus in leg irons. It can take between four and ten days, and the hotels on the way prepare you for a stay at the Fort Lauderdale jail. Not so nice. A warrant, (also called a capias if issued by a judge from the bench), is a pick-up order. All States share the outstanding warrants lists and will hold you until the State that wants you either agrees to pay the transportation (issues a “governors warrant”) or says pass, in which case you are released. If you have been arrested in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, on a Florida criminal charge, or a federal criminal charge, a warrant is issued until you appear before a judge and are granted bail or pre-trial release. If you fail to appear at any court-set hearing a capias (warrant) is issued. Violations of probation warrants are the most common, and the most common violation of probation warrants are issued for missing a check-in with your probation officer, or leaving Florida and moving without permission and without the receiving State agreeing to supervise the probation or community control. Both Federal criminal courts and Fort Lauderdale and Miami criminal courts hear violation of probation matters. If you have been arrested or have reason to believe a violation of probation warrant is out there: call a criminal defense attorney and let him/her help you.
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