New York statute
N.Y. Criminal Procedure Law § 120.10 — Warrant of arrest; definition, function, form and content
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 120: Warrant of Arrest, New York Criminal Procedure Law.
Full text of N.Y. Criminal Procedure Law § 120.10
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
120.10 Warrant of arrest; definition, function, form and content.
1. A warrant of arrest is a process issued by a local criminal court
directing a police officer to arrest a defendant designated in an
accusatory instrument filed with such court and to bring him before such
court in connection with such instrument. The sole function of a warrant
of arrest is to achieve a defendant's court appearance in a criminal
action for the purpose of arraignment upon the accusatory instrument by
which such action was commenced.
2. A warrant of arrest must be subscribed by the issuing judge and
must state or contain (a) the name of the issuing court, and (b) the
date of issuance of the warrant, and (c) the name or title of an offense
charged in the underlying accusatory instrument, and (d) the name of the
defendant to be arrested or, if such be unknown, any name or description
by which he can be identified with reasonable certainty, and (e) the
police officer or officers to whom the warrant is addressed, and (f) a
direction that such officer arrest the defendant and bring him before
the issuing court.
3. A warrant of arrest may be addressed to a classification of police
officers, or to two or more classifications thereof, as well as to a
designated individual police officer or officers. Multiple copies of
such a warrant may be issued.
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This reference is informational and is not legal advice.