Broward County Warrant Search

Broward County Warrant Search

Broward County Warrant Search | Florida Warrant Search

You can conduct a statewide arrest warrant search or a specific Broward County warrant search using the links on this page.  The hyperlinks to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Broward County Clerk of Court are below.  The police will usually not conduct a Broward County Warrant search for you if you call.  The police want you to turn yourself in.  I want to help resolve your problem without an arrest.  You might not have to go to jail.  If you have a warrant for your arrest and want to avoid jail,
call us at (954)990-0525 to see how we can help you.

A Word of Caution

If you believe that there is a warrant for your arrest, you are probably right. The police will arrest you anywhere in the State of Florida, and sometimes in other states, if there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest.  The police officer does not have the discretion to not make an arrest.  He is required to obey the court order and arrest you on the spot.  It does not matter what you are trying to do to fix the situation.  You need to take care of an arrest warrant as quickly as possible.  Call a criminal defense attorney immediately if you have a warrant and don’t want to go to jail.

Broward County Warrant Search

The first place that you should look to determine whether you have a warrant in a Broward County criminal case is the Broward County Clerk of Court.  Documents in a family law case, including domestic violence cases, are not available to the public online.  Use the FDLE warrant search below if you are looking for a warrant from a family law case.  Alternatively, call an attorney.  Attorneys with an account can access the documents online.

Instructions for Broward County Warrant Search

Click the blue link titled “Broward County Case Search” below.  Select “Felony” and “Traffic and Misdemeanor” as the court type.  If you are not sure, select “All.”  Enter your last name and your first name.  Click the “I am not a Robot” Recaptcha square.  Select the appropriate case.  It will probably, but not always, show its status as “pending.”   Scroll down to the warrants section once you have selected the appropriate case.  A warrant for your arrest has been issued if it says “capias issued.”  If it does not say “Capias Served” or “Capias Withdrawn,” call a criminal defense attorney immediately.

Link: Broward County Case Search

Caution, the police officer or the clerk might have spelled your name wrong.  It happens a lot.  Especially when there is a hypen in your last name.  Sometimes a warrant does not appear because it was issued recently.  If you suspect a spelling issue, use the case number search or the FDLE search below.  You should either check back often or call a criminal defense attorney as the records might not be up to date.

Florida Warrant Search

If you have an arrest warrant from anywhere in Florida it should appear on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Public Access System.  Linking to the FDLE Public Access System does not always get good results.  Sometimes the website loads easily and sometimes it does not.  I am going to provide you with two ways to get to the arrest warrant search.

First, click on the blue link below titled “FDLE Wanted Person Search.”  It can take the better part of a minute to load.  If it loads, input your last name, first name, complete the captcha at the bottom and click the “Submit Search” button.  Your results will appear.

FDLE Wanted Person Search

If that doesn’t work, here is the second, longer way to get there.  Click on the blue link below titled “FDLE Website.”  Find the link that says “Search Wanted Persons.”  That will take you to the Public Access System home page.  Select the person icon on the left side of the screen.  Select “Wanted Persons” after clicking on the person icon.  Now you are on the FDLE Public Access System.  Follow the instructions set forth above.

FDLE Website

If you could not find the information that you needed or you are still concerned, contact a criminal defense lawyer for more assistance.  Everybody wants to know if they have an outstanding warrant.  Now that you know, you can find out more about arrest warrants below.

What is an Arrest Warrant?

An arrest warrant is a court order directing the police to arrest you when and if they have contact with you.  The officer must obey the court’s order.  The officer can’t “be cool” or give you a brake.  There is no excuse that will keep you from going to jail.  So if you are trying to address an arrest warrant, don’t unnecessarily put yourself in harm’s way.

Bail Bondsman

If you are dealing with a bail bondsman and do not appear for court, the bondsman can take you back into custody or hire somebody to take you back into custody.  Bail bondsmen are not law enforcement officers and do not have to arrest you.  If you have a private attorney, most bondsmen will give your attorney some time to address the warrant.

Types of Arrest Warrants

There are several reasons that there could be a warrant for your arrest.  This list is not all inclusive, but includes the most common types of warrants and the reason the warrant was issued.

Bench Warrant

If you fail to appear for a court date, the judge will usually issue a warrant for your arrest called a “bench warrant.”  The judge is permitted to, but does not have to, set a bond on the bench warrant.

Fugitive Warrant

A suspect is usually arrested at the scene of the crime or soon thereafter.  Sometimes there is a long investigation before the police make an arrest decision.  The police do not need an arrest warrant if there is probable cause for a felony, but what happens if the police don’t know where the suspect is?  The police will apply for an arrest warrant so other departments will know if a person is wanted.  Some people simply refer to this as an arrest warrant and it is sometimes referred to as a fugitive warrant.  The term “fugitive” as used in this sense does not necessarily imply that the suspect has fled or is attempting to flee the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution.

Violation of Probation Warrant

Your probation officer can request a warrant for your arrest if you violate the terms of your probation.  Your probation officer does not have to request a warrant to arrest you.  Similar to a fugitive warrant, it simply notifies other law enforcement officers that you are wanted for a probation violation.

Extradition Warrant

If you have a warrant for your arrest in another state, you can be arrested in Florida and held on the foreign arrest warrant.  During the time that you are held, the other state has to make a decision on whether to extradite you.  This is a complex area of law with numerous procedural requirements.  The assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney is extremely important.

Child Support Warrant or Writ of Bodily Attachment

The state, with some degree of regularity, issues warrants for individuals behind in their child support payments.  If you have an outstanding child support warrant, you will want to speak with an attorney that has both criminal and family law experience if you have an outstanding child support warrant.  A writ of bodily attachment is also used in other civil cases as a means of enforcing contempt proceedings.

Pickup Orders

The court can issue a pickup order in certain cases which requires the police take an individual into custody.  Pickup orders are regularly issued in Baker Act and Marchman Act proceedings.  Under these circumstances, the police will typically take the individual to a mental health facility.

For additional information, please contact Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney, Michael Dye at:
The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA, 1 East Broward Boulevard #700, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (954)990-0525

How Can I Drop Domestic Violence Charges?

How Can I Drop Domestic Violence Charges?

Can I Drop Domestic Violence Charges?

Domestic Violence Charges

This question typically comes up in one of two ways. First, the victim of domestic violence will call to speak with an attorney and say that he or she does not want to press charges. Second, the defendant will call and tell the attorney that his or her significant other does not want to prosecute the case. When you need an attorney website, reach out for web design palm springs.

It is easy to get jaded after hearing these questions time after time and the individual speaking to you once an explanation for every answer you provide. A domestic violence attorney needs to remember that this is probably the most traumatic incident in that person’s life. Whether you are handling criminal domestic violence charges or civil domestic violence injunctions, these cases require a lot of patience and compassion.

Criminal Domestic Violence | Who it the Victim

The answer that people do not want to hear is that the victim or the alleged victim cannot drop criminal domestic violence charges.  There is hope.  Just keep reading. The reason why is because the “person victim” is not the “legal victim.” In criminal domestic violence cases, the victim is the State of Florida. Hypothetically, let’s assume that the defendant’s name is John Smith. A criminal domestic violence case would be titled “The State of Florida vs. John Smith.” The State of Florida is the party to the case. The “person victim” who suffered or allegedly suffered the abuse is merely a witness.

Domestic Violence Injunctions | Who is the Victim

Civil domestic violence cases are different. In a civil domestic violence case the victim or alleged victim goes to the courthouse and files a Petition for Protection against Domestic Violence. Again, let’s use John Smith as the alleged perpetrator and his wife Jane Smith as the alleged victim according to Divorce Lawyer Chicago. Jane Smith would file the petition and the case would be titled “Jane Smith vs. John Smith.” Jane Smith would be what is called “The Petitioner” in this hypothetical case and John Smith would be called “The Respondent.” The Petitioner is the individual who is requesting a domestic violence restraining order. Notice how the first party in the criminal domestic violence case is “The State of Florida” while the first party in the civil case is the individual “Jane Smith.” Jane is not just a witness in the civil case, Jane is a party to the civil case. Jane can voluntarily dismiss the civil case at any time because she is the prosecuting party. The Office of the State Attorney decides whether to prosecute in the criminal case.

Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Domestic Violence Charges

Attorneys who defend domestic violence cases hear a lot of the same questions repeated in various forms. Chances are that your idea is not something we haven’t heard before, so ask before you do. Some of the more common questions are:

  • Will the state drop charges if I write a letter to the state attorney?
  • Will the state drop charges if I say it never happened?
  • What will happen if I don’t(or the other party doesn’t) show up for court?
  • What if I just refuse to cooperate?
  • Can’t I just tell the judge that I don’t want to prosecute?

The Answers

Understanding that there are no guarantees either way, I will address these one by one.

  • The state will probably not drop the charges because you write a letter saying that you do not want to prosecute. This has the potential to do much more harm than good.  It could help the state’s case if it is not worded correctly.  If the letter indicates that you have had contact with the defendant, that could lead to additional charges or the defendant’s bond being revoked.  This is an all around bad idea.
  • If you say it never happened, the outcome depends on your initial statement. Pursuant to Florida Statute 117.10, police officers are allowed to administer oaths. So the statement that you made to the police officer in the beginning of this case was probably under penalty of perjury. Even if you aren’t subject to a perjury charge, you can still be charged with making a false report.  You may expose yourself to significant criminal liability by retracting your statement.
  • You are legally required to show up for court if you have been subpoenaed. You may expose yourself to criminal liability if you do not show up for court after being subpoenaed. Furthermore, the court can issue what is called a writ of bodily attachment and have a police officer go pick you up………….. in handcuffs……………. and you might be required to stay in jail for the remainder of the proceedings in order to assure your appearance. Does this happen? Yes. Does it happen frequently? It depends on the jurisdiction, the policies at the state attorney’s office, circumstances surrounding the case and ultimately the individual prosecutor. Furthermore, it is a violation of the rules of professional ethics for any attorney to advise you not to show up after you have been subpoenaed.
  • There are other ways the state can obtain a conviction if you refuse to cooperate or simply do not show up. Under certain circumstances tapes of 911 telephone calls can be introduced to prove an individual’s guilt even if the witness does not appear. Many times there are other witnesses who can testify to the facts.
  • You may want to speak with the judge directly, but the judge is not allowed to discuss the case with out the state attorney and the defense attorney being present. In the event you do get to speak to the judge, you could put yourself or the defendant in a much worse situation. Additionally, judges are very suspect of individuals who suddenly get amnesia or say that it was all “a big misunderstanding.”

How can I Drop Domestic Violence Charges?

If you want to have criminal domestic violence charges dropped, the victim(aka the witness) should have his or her own attorney separate from the defendant’s attorney. Any appearance of impropriety is alleviated by both parties having separate attorneys. The attorneys can work together to lift the criminal no contact order and/or prepare an affidavit of nonprosecution specific to the case. While there are no guarantees, hiring separate attorneys has proven to have the highest rate of success and getting domestic violence charges dropped or dismissed.

For more information on how to get domestic violence charges dismissed, please contact us at:

The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA, 1 East Broward Boulevard #700, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (954)990-0525 or
The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA, 2 S Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33131 (305)459-3286