Kennewick Bench Warrants

Kennewick bench warrants are court orders that judges sign when a person fails to appear in Kennewick Municipal Court or Benton County District Court. You can search for an active bench warrant, an arrest warrant, or an outstanding warrant tied to a Kennewick case using state and county tools. The Kennewick court shares space with Benton County District Court at 7122 W. Okanogan Place. A name search is the most common way to look one up. Most checks take only a few minutes online.

Where to Search Kennewick Bench Warrants

Kennewick is the largest city in Benton County. The city does not run its own stand alone court building. The Kennewick Municipal Court shares space with Benton County District Court. Most warrant lookups for a Kennewick case start at the state level. The fastest first stop is the Washington Courts Data Warehouse. Type a name, pick the right court, and see if a warrant flag is set on the case.

You can also use the city's records request page to ask for case files. Court payments and some case info are on the Benton County Lower Court online portal. For deeper case data, the Benton County Superior Court handles felony files. The clerk can pull a case in person at the Kennewick courthouse.

Calling the clerk works too. The Benton County District Court line is 509-735-8476.

Start at the state data warehouse for a fast Kennewick name based search.

The portal pulls case info and active warrant flags from district, municipal, and superior courts across Washington.

Kennewick Municipal Court Info

The Kennewick Municipal Court hears city code cases. That covers traffic, parking, DUI, and small misdemeanors filed by Kennewick Police. The court is at 7122 W. Okanogan Place, Kennewick, WA 99336. Court staff can tell you if a bench warrant is active. They cannot give legal advice. If you have a warrant, you should talk to a lawyer first, then ask the court to quash it.

Felony cases from Kennewick go to Benton County Superior Court in Prosser. A felony warrant is more serious than a misdemeanor bench warrant. The court rules CrR 2.2 and CrRLJ 2.2 set the steps a judge must follow before signing a warrant. You can read those rules through the Washington Courts site.

Note: Warrants from Kennewick stay active until the person is arrested, the court quashes the warrant, or the case is closed by a judge.

Statewide Tools for Kennewick Warrant Search

Some warrants are not in city or county tools. The Washington Department of Corrections runs its own warrant list under RCW 9.94A.716. If a person is on community custody and breaks the rules, the DOC can put a warrant out. The DOC warrant search is free and open to the public. You can also see the DOC wanted list.

The Washington State Patrol runs WATCH. WATCH is a name based criminal history check. It is on the WSP fortress site. There is a small fee for the full record. WATCH does not show every Kennewick bench warrant, but it does show prior charges that may help confirm a person's record. The WSP also runs a criminal history info page.

Visit the WATCH portal to run a name based criminal history check.

WATCH gives the public a name search of the state criminal history system, which can support a Kennewick warrant lookup.

You can read the rules that govern these tools in the Revised Code of Washington at apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw. The Public Records Act in RCW 42.56 sets the basic rule that state records are open. Court rule GR 31 says case files are open unless a judge seals them.

How to Clear a Kennewick Bench Warrant

If you find an active bench warrant in your name, do not wait. The first step is to call a lawyer. A lawyer can ask the court to quash the warrant and set a new court date. The judge may set bail or just reset the case. This is faster than getting picked up at a traffic stop or at work.

Forms for motions to quash are on the Washington Courts forms page. The Benton County Clerk can also point you to the right form. Some Kennewick cases need an in person hearing. Others can be handled by mail or phone.

You can reach the right court through the Washington Courts directory.

The directory lists every court in the state with phone, address, and clerk hours.

Note: The court will not waive a Kennewick bench warrant by phone alone; you must file the right motion or appear in person to clear it.

Kennewick Police and Booking Info

Kennewick Police make most of the arrests that lead to a bench warrant in the city. After a booking, the case moves to the Kennewick Municipal Court or to Benton County District Court. The Benton County jail roster lists the people held at the time of the search. You can call the jail to confirm a booking. The roster does not show every active warrant, but it does show people picked up under one.

If a person from Kennewick is held on a felony, the case moves to Benton County Superior Court in Prosser. The clerk there can pull the case file and tell you the warrant status. The Odyssey portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov is another way to check Kennewick case info online.

You can browse all of the courts in the state through the courts directory.

The Odyssey portal lets you search by name and view case info and warrant flags for Kennewick and other Washington cases.

Public Access to Kennewick Court Records

Most Kennewick case files are public. The state Public Records Act and court rule GR 31 set the basic rules. You do not need to give a reason. You do not need to show ID. Some data is held back. Juvenile warrants are not in the public system. Sealed cases do not show up. Social security numbers and bank info are redacted.

If a name search returns too many hits, try a date of birth or middle name. Common names are tough. Use a year range to cut the list down. The clerk can help if you get stuck.