Capias

Latin for "that you take." A capias is a writ issued by a judge requesting that the sheriff take someone into custody, and hold the person until he or she may be brought into court before a judge of the court, so that the person can be dealt with by the court. In a criminal case in Superior Court, a capias is normally requested by the hearing office because the defendant failed to appear for court. It is also requested when a defendant is in violation of a condition of probation, and the probation officer asks the court to bring the defendant before the court, to answer for the failure to follow the condition of probation. A capias is similar to a warrant in that a law enforcement agent, upon discovering that there is an outstanding capias upon a person, is authorized to take that person into custody.