Go to the Denver County Court Warrant Search website. Enter your first name, last name, and date of birth to see if there are any active warrants.

If you have a warrant, you may be arrested at any time. If the charges are serious, the police may be out looking for you. Otherwise, you risk being arrested whenever you get pulled over for a traffic violation and the police run your name.

Contact a criminal defense attorney right away if you have an active warrant. The attorney may be able to get the warrant recalled or else orchestrate a surrender so you avoid a dramatic arrest scene at your home or place of work.

Recalling arrest warrants in Colorado

Colorado arrests warrants are what judges issue when they believe there is “probable cause” that a particular person committed a crime. Judges base their decisions on evidence (“the information”) that the police present to the judge. In rare cases, a grand jury and not a judge makes the decision about whether a suspect should be arrested — this is called an indictment.

In some situations, it may be possible to get an arrest warrant recalled if the suspect’s defense attorney can show the prosecutors that there is insufficient probable cause to support the warrant. Otherwise, the defense attorney may be able to contact the prosecutors and arrange for a formal surrender:

A formal surrender would relieve the suspect from being unexpectedly arrested in public or at home. And depending on the circumstances, the defense attorney may be able to arrange for a “walk-through” where the suspect gets formally booked but then immediately released on bail or a PR bond (own recognizance release).

Quashing bench warrants in Colorado

Colorado bench warrants are what judges issue when a person disobeys a court order. A common reason judges issue bench warrants is that a defendant or witness in a case failed to appear at a mandatory court hearing.

As with people with arrest warrants, people with bench warrants may be arrested at any time as long as the warrant is active. Depending on the terms of the warrant, the judge can then order that the person remain in jail until they post bail. In some cases, the person may be required to stay in jail pending the outcome of the underlying case.

In most situations, the police will not go out and try to find and arrest the person named in the warrant. But it is still a good idea to try to get the warrant “quashed” (recalled) as soon as possible:

A criminal defense attorney can file a motion with the court to quash the warrant. The judge would then hold a hearing where the defense attorney would argue why the judge should quash the warrant and allow the person to remain free. Depending on the case, the person named in the warrant may have to appear in court with the defense attorney.

Judge’s are more likely to quash bench warrants if the person does not have a history of bench warrants and missing court appearances. But people who have a long track record of defying court orders may have a difficult time persuading the judge to give them another chance.