Obtaining warrants now tougher, as it should be
With the start of 2004, there’s a new law in Tennessee which is long overdue. That new law now makes it harder for a private citizen to have someone thrown in jail after the state has tightened restrictions when it comes to citizens obtaining warrants.
Under the previous method, any citizen could apply for an arrest warrant against another citizen, provided they could show a judicial commissioner a justifiable reason as to why such a warrant should be issued. Unfortunately, judicial commissioners across the state fell into the habit of issuing warrants based on very little evidence. Often it was the word of only one person which lead to the arrest of another.
This created its share of embarrassing situations as some people were arrested at work and taken to jail — often not realizing they had done anything wrong. It was standard policy to make most of these offenders bond their way out of jail, which is money they did not get back.
While this might sound like an absolute horror story, it was a regular occurrence in Warren County and every other county in this state. Some arrests were perfectly justified while many others, sadly, were not.
District Attorney Dale Potter summed up the situation accurately when he said, “They made this change because there was a problem statewide of people getting mad at someone and going out and getting a warrant and getting them thrown in jail. Then, when it came court time, the accuser didn’t want to push the charges. Then there were other times the accusers just plain accused the wrong people and had them locked up. We also had some folks overcharged when the warrants were taken by private citizens. Even when the cases are dropped, the person accused has usually lost the bond money they used to get out of jail.”
To remedy this situation, state lawmakers made a new law effective Jan. 1. It says private citizens will not be able to take warrants on people. Instead, citizens will be limited to obtaining citations for alleged offenders and citing them into court to answer the charges. The accused in these cases will not be arrested, but instead just be required to report to court at a certain time by a summons.
This is a fitting solution to what had become a growing problem, especially with jail space limited in virtually every county in Tennessee. Citizens can still confront a person they believe has violated the law, but it happens in a courtroom where both sides are able to tell their story. Justice will still be served and no one is unnecessarily hauled off to jail.
The new law also comes with exceptions which are also appropriate. A warrant can still be taken out by private citizens in cases of domestic violence where there is clear evidence of abuse.
And while citizens can no longer obtain warrants, arrests can still be made for offenses provided a law enforcement officer investigates the allegation and then procures the warrant.
The new law is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Alleged victims can still call someone into court to answer to charges, but it saves officers the time of rounding up suspects from all over the county who may – or may not – have done something wrong.
Most importantly, it relieves people the time and embarrassment of being hauled off to jail for charges which may never be pursued.
State lawmakers were wise to implement such a policy. It’s a much-needed move and one which was long overdue.