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warrant definition - legal

n

  1. An order in writing from a competent authority instructing that a certain act be carried out.
  2. In commercial and property law, a warrant also refers to a guarantee that a property being sold or transferred meets certain specified criteria.
arrest warrant
A court order directing that a certain person be taken into custody by the sheriff or other law officer and made to appear before the court to answer a complaint, or for some other reason.
bench warrant
An arrest warrant issued specifically by a judge for a person who has failed to appear before a court after previously having been summoned to do so, or who has been indicted for an offense or found to be in contempt of court.
death warrant
A warrant issued by a governor or other person with authority, commanding that a prisoner under sentence of death be put to death at a certain time and in a certain manner.
general warrant
A warrant used by the government to search a described premises and seize any proscribed substances not described in the warrant. This type of warrant has been held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court as violating the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, except in cases where the seized items are in plain sight.
stock warrant
A certificate entitling the bearer to buy a certain number of shares of stock at a specified time for a set price.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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