A municipal court clerk has the authority to issue a capias.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only if designated by the judge
• D. Only for civil cases

Answer: (B)

Capias is a writ used to compel a person's appearance or to arrest someone who has failed to appear, and it is issued by the court as a judicial order. The authority to issue this kind of writ rests with a judge or magistrate, not with a clerical employee. A municipal court clerk handles filing, record-keeping, and preparing documents under the court’s direction, but the act of issuing the capias itself is a judicial action. Therefore, a municipal court clerk does not have independent authority to issue a capias, so the statement is false. In practice, the judge signs the writ (or designates a judicial officer to sign it), and the clerk carries out the procedural steps to implement it.