• Minnesota judges can issue bench warrants.Justice image by MVit from Fotolia.com
  
  Like all other states, Minnesota uses bench warrants. These warrants are issued by state judges or magistrates and allow or compel law enforcement officers to take the person or persons named in the warrant into custody. Always contact a qualified attorney if you need legal advice about a Minnesota bench warrant or criminal case.
  
  

Issuance

• Like arrest warrants or search warrants, judges or magistrates issue bench warrants. However, they are not issued after a law enforcement agent requests them but rather because a defendant or person before the court has failed to comply with a court order. For example, a police officer can request a judge issue an arrest warrant if the officer believes a person has committed a crime. However, if that person then fails to appear at a court date, the judge can issue a bench warrant ordering the police to take the person into custody and bring him before the judge on a contempt of court charge.
  
  

Basis

• Bench warrants are typically issued because a criminal defendant fails to appear in court but there are other reasons. According to the Martin Law Offices of Minneapolis, a Minnesota criminal defense law firm, judges can issue bench warrants when a defendant: doesn't pay a fine, doesn't comply with the conditions set when the court granted bail, doesn't comply with community service requirements and doesn't attend court ordered education programs.
  
  

Effect

• Once a judge issues a bench warrant, the judge then orders law enforcement officers, typically the sheriff's department, to take the named defendant into custody. Once brought before the court, the defendant must answer for both the failure to comply with the court's orders as well as any other outstanding charges that remain.
  
  For example, if a person is given a speeding ticket and fails to appear at the scheduled court date, the judge will issue a bench warrant for a failure to appear. Once the person is arrested, she must then go before the judge to answer for both the speeding ticket and the failure to show up for court. Any sentence for failing to appear is given in addition to the penalty for the original speeding violation.