Iowa Sheriff

Can I be arrested when I go to pick up a summons at the sheriffs office?

I have to pick up a summons at the sheriffs office on Friday, and I've never done it before. Could they arrest me when I go to pick it up? I have no idea what the summons is for. I tried to have a friend go pick it up for me, but when she arrived they said I had to go pick it up.

Public Comments

1. Sure, if there is a warrant for your arrest. However, if the only issue you are facing is the summons, it is not likely. Being summoned is not a criminal offense.
2. Probably not unless you already have a pretty good idea what you are being called for
3. Yes. It sounds too me like you have a Grand Jury secret Indightment for dealing drugs If that is what it's for you will be arrested as soon as you walk through the door.
4. a summons is to latte you know that you have being ss to appeared in cour
5. This is why you should keep your nose clean. If you have something to worry about then you may need to be arrested.
6. If there is a bench warrant you sure can. I wouldn't be worried about the sending your friend away thing, this isn't a trick to get you in...all summons require personal service. If they can get in touch with you to tell you they have a summons for you, they obviously know where you are and could arrest you at any time, the charade of having you go down and pick up a summons just wouldn't make sense if they already know where you are.
7. What is the summons for? I bet you know ;-)) If it is for something that falls in the misdemeanor category or a civil summons you won't be arrested. If it is for a felony related adventure then you will be photographed and fingerprinted and probably sent on your way. If you have a question about it and don't want to go pick it up yourself have someone go with you. If you are not 18, make that person a parent or guardian. Good luck.
8. yes
9. You can be arrested if you have a warrent out for your arrest. A summons just tells you when and where to appear in court, and that you are involved in a legal action (law suit of some type). Usually IF you DO have a warrant, then you will need to go to the court to put your name of the docket to appear before the judge to get your warrant taken care of, either by paying a fine, serving time in jail or both, depending on what the warrant is for. In this case, you will have to appear in person, with a valid ID to take care of this, and while yes, you technically can get arrested, there usually are NO sheriff's standing by just waiting for someone to show up so they can lock them up, and typically the clerks will not "alert" a nearby officer to lock you up when you show up. Of course, anything can happen, but best to advise you to go there and take care of your business asap.
10. Summons are usually delivered to your door. When I was a process server we knocked, asked the person are you so and so? Yes then we handed them the summons and said,"YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED" I have a feeling there is more to this than meets the eye. Have you had a traffic violation that you didn't respond to? Have you been a witness to a crime? Did you see an accident and were one of the people a cop spoke to? Were you in a store when it was robbed?