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bench warrant

bench warrant

4 8.1
An order from a judge that allows police to arrest someone and bring them to court
  • noun
  • /bɛnʧ ˈwɔrənt/
  • Formal
translation icon : orden de arresto
  • She was surprised to find out that a bench warrant had been issued against her for not completing her community service.
  • issue bench warrant
  • bench warrant for arrest
  • outstanding bench warrant

Examples

  • We have a bench warrant which requires you to appear in court to testify in the state's case against Clyde Hansen.

  • I'm issuing a bench warrant for his arrest.

  • I got a bench warrant for your arrest.

  • But then she tried to get a bench warrant issued for my arrest.

  • A bench warrant is hereby ordered by this court.

  • If the parent fails to appear at the hearing, the clerk can issue a bench warrant for his arrest.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The guy, homeless, was arrested within half an hour and booked on an outstanding bench warrant for burglary.

    Blog text (6)
  • Vino looks as if he's relieved the bench warrant is not for him this time.

    Blog text (20)
  • The judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest due to his failure to appear in court.

  • After missing his court date, a bench warrant was issued, requiring his immediate arrest.

Synonyms

warrant
vsbench warrant
  • Formal
702 4.6

An official paper that gives permission to do something, for example a court order

is a specific judge issued arrest order rather than a general authorization
arrest warrant
vsbench warrant
  • Formal
42 3.8

A paper from a judge that lets police take a person to a station and bring them to court

is issued directly by a judge as a judicial order for arrest

Surface Forms

bench warrant singular

Morphology

bench + warrant

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'bench' (the panel of judges) with 'warrant' (an official legal order): it denotes a warrant issued by the bench/judge authorizing arrest. This is a straightforward, compositional legal noun-noun compound found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Bench warrant comes from the judge's bench and the word warrant, which means an 'official order'. Imagine a judge at the bench giving a paper that tells police 'to arrest' someone and 'bring them before the court', so bench warrant means that judge's order to have someone arrested.