Alachua County Bench Warrants

Bench warrants in Alachua County are issued by judges in the 8th Judicial Circuit when someone fails to show up for court or breaks a court order. The Alachua County Clerk of Court and the Sheriff's Office both play a role in tracking and serving these warrants. Gainesville is the county seat, and it is where the main courthouse sits. You can search for active bench warrants in Alachua County through the clerk's court records system, the sheriff's warrants bureau, or the FDLE statewide database. All of these are public records under Florida law. This page covers how to find and check bench warrant status in Alachua County.

Alachua County Clerk of Court

The Clerk of Court in Alachua County keeps all court case files, and that includes bench warrants. J.K. "Jess" Irby serves as the clerk. The office is at 201 East University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida 32601. You can call 352-374-3625 for general questions. The Alachua County Clerk website has links to court records, forms, and public records request info. If you need to ask about a specific bench warrant, the clerk staff can look it up by name or case number.

The Alachua County Clerk homepage is shown below and gives access to court records and case search tools.

For public records requests, you can call (352) 264-6906 or send an email to publicrecordsrequest@alachuacounty.us. This covers bench warrant documents, case files, and other court records held by the Alachua County Clerk.

Under Florida Statute 901.02, a judge can issue a bench warrant when probable cause exists. In Alachua County, these warrants go into the clerk's system right away. The clerk's records go back decades, with the oldest case on file dating to July 23, 1928.

Search Alachua County Bench Warrants Online

Alachua County has an online court records search tool. You can use it to look up bench warrants, criminal cases, and civil matters from home. The Alachua County court records database lets you search by name, case number, date filed, or case type. Civil traffic records go back to September 2001. Civil cases start from September 2001 too. Criminal records are in the system from December 2005 on. This is a free tool.

The Alachua County court records search page is shown here.

Search results show case details like the charge, filing date, and warrant status. You can see if a bench warrant is active or has been served. Keep in mind that not all bench warrants may appear right away. The system gets updated on a set schedule, and brand new warrants may take a day or two to show up in the Alachua County search.

You can also check for Alachua County bench warrants through the FDLE database at fdle.state.fl.us. The state system pulls warrant data from all 67 Florida counties, including Alachua. It gets updated every 24 hours. Search by first name, last name, or date of birth.

Alachua County Sheriff Warrants Bureau

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office runs a dedicated warrants bureau. It is the unit that serves bench warrants and arrest warrants in the county. The warrants bureau is at 2621 SE Hawthorne Road in Gainesville. You can reach them at (352) 367-4138. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. The Alachua County Sheriff website has more details on their operations.

Under Florida Statute 901.04, any sheriff in the state can serve a bench warrant. That means a warrant from Alachua County can be served in any other Florida county. The arrest can happen on any day and at any time. There are no limits on when an officer can act on an active bench warrant.

If you think you have an active bench warrant in Alachua County, the sheriff's office says you should turn yourself in. You can do this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the Alachua County Jail. Criminal summonses must be picked up at the warrants bureau lobby. If a summons goes unclaimed, it gets sent back to the clerk and an arrest capias is issued instead. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.730, the clerk or the state attorney can prepare a direct capias to bring a person before the court for sentencing or adjudication in Alachua County.

Note: Bench warrants in Alachua County do not expire and stay active until the person is arrested, the judge recalls the warrant, or the subject is deceased.

Alachua County Bench Warrant Penalties

Missing court in Alachua County leads to real trouble. Under Florida Statute 843.15, failure to appear on a felony charge is a third-degree felony. That can mean up to five years in prison. Failure to appear on a misdemeanor charge is a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail. These are new charges on top of the original case. The bench warrant is separate from what you were in court for in the first place.

Florida bench warrants are different from search warrants. Search warrants expire after 10 days under Florida Statute 933.05. Bench warrants do not. A bench warrant from five years ago in Alachua County is still active today. It will show up if you get pulled over, apply for certain licenses, or have any contact with law enforcement. The warrant stays in the system until it gets resolved.

Resolving Bench Warrants in Alachua County

If you find out you have a bench warrant in Alachua County, talk to a lawyer first. A criminal defense attorney can check the details of your case and help you plan the best way to handle it. They can sometimes file a motion to quash the warrant, especially for old cases or minor charges. Voluntary surrender often leads to better results than getting arrested on the street.

To resolve a bench warrant in Alachua County, you can:

• Hire an attorney to file a motion to quash or recall the warrant
• Turn yourself in at the Alachua County Jail
• Contact the warrants bureau at (352) 367-4138 during business hours
• Call the clerk's office at 352-374-3625 for case status

Watch out for scam calls. Real law enforcement in Alachua County will never ask you to pay over the phone to clear a bench warrant. No gift cards, no wire transfers. If someone calls and demands payment, hang up. Verify through the clerk's office or the sheriff's non-emergency line. Bench warrant records in Alachua County are public under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, which is the Sunshine Law. Anyone can look them up.

Alachua County Warrant Records Access

All bench warrants in Alachua County are public records. Florida's Sunshine Law, Chapter 119, makes sure of that. Once a return of service is filed, the warrant becomes part of the court record. Anyone can ask to see it. You do not need to be a party to the case. There are some limits for juvenile cases and sealed records, but most bench warrants in Alachua County are wide open for public search.

The Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers association connects all 67 county clerk offices. Their systems help share bench warrant data across the state. The eWarrants system links police, state attorneys, clerks, judges, and sheriffs in Alachua County and across Florida. This means a bench warrant in Alachua County shows up in databases used by law enforcement all over the state.

Note: Under Florida Statute 88.3051, a court can issue a bench warrant, capias, or writ of bodily attachment when someone does not appear after proper notice in Alachua County.

Cities in Alachua County

Alachua County has several cities and towns. All bench warrants in the county are handled through the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Gainesville. Gainesville is the only city in Alachua County with a population over 75,000.

Other places in Alachua County include Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, LaCrosse, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo. Bench warrants for residents of these areas are handled at the Alachua County courthouse in Gainesville.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Alachua County. Make sure your bench warrant is in the right county before you take action. Each county has its own clerk and sheriff that handle warrants.