Warrants Section
The Warrant Section is on a 7-day schedule. Warrants are reviewed and processed 365 days a year. The warrant requests come from all police agencies in Wayne County and other agencies such as the Michigan Unemployment Agency, the Postal Inspector, the Humane Society, the Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as federal law enforcement agencies. Each day 2 attorneys start at 6:00 a.m. to better enable the police agencies to process in custody defendants. The section also has an attorney who is fluent in Spanish and one fluent in Arabic to better meet the needs of the diverse population of citizens in Wayne County. These warrant requests are generally in the range of 4 to 20 pages in length. Some consist of boxes of documents. The section also answers many questions for the various law enforcement agencies each and every day.
Contact Information
| Deputy Chief Warrants |
Barbara Smith
Wayne County Prosecutor's Office
Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
10th Floor
1441 St. Antoine
Detroit, Michigan 48556
(313) 224-5634
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| Lead Attorney Warrants |
John Scavone
Wayne County Prosecutor's Office
Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
10th Floor
1441 St. Antoine
Detroit, Michigan 48556
(313) 224-6878
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How does a criminal prosecution begin?
A. The process begins when a citizen or police officer makes an official police report about an alleged crime in the city where the incident occurred. The case is assigned to a police investigator (detective) who interviews witnesses, collects evidence, and prepares a summary for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. An assistant prosecutor will review the documents submitted by the police and will interview you. The assistant prosecutor will decide what criminal charges are appropriate.
Q. Will I have to testify in court?
A. If charges are issued, you will have to testify in court unless the defendant pleads guilty.
Q. What if my neighbor saw who committed the crime, but he doesn't want to get involved. May I just tell the judge what he told me?
A. No, that would be hearsay. A witness must testify to what they saw or did. The prosecutor's office would subpoena your neighbor to come to court.
Q. What if I don't speak or understand English very well?
A. The court will provide an interpreter for the court proceedings.
Q. Can the defendant be ordered to pay restitution to me?
A. If the defendant is found guilty, then the judge determines the amount of restitution as a part of the sentence. Please bring your receipts for damages, your medical bills, your proof of lost wages, etc. to the assistant prosecutor.
Q. Will I have the same prosecutor from beginning to end?
A. Probably not. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office must cover criminal hearings in the district courts, Wayne County Circuit Court, and the appellate courts. At each stage, you may have a different assistant prosecutor. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office does try to have the same prosecutor for all court proceedings involving young children, elderly victims or other vulnerable adults.
Q. How will I know when to come to court?
A. You will be notified by the police or someone from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Please provide them with your current address and contact numbers. If this information changes, then let us know immediately
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