Hello, my name is Chris Morales I’m a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco,California. I’m a board certified specialist in Criminal Law. Today I want to talk about when an officer can arrest somebody without an arrest warrant. So, let’s talk about what an arrest warrant is first of all, an arrest warrant is when a police officer goes to a judge with a written request to arrest somebody and that police officer will write out in the request exactly why they want to arrest this person and what
crimes they are accused of committing. The judge will then review that request and will sign it or not sign it, but there are times when a police officer can arrest somebody without an arrest warrant, without the permission of a judge. If it is a misdemeanor such as driving under the influence of alcohol or DUI a police officer can arrest somebody only if the crime is committed in their presence. In other words if a CHP sees someone driving and swerving on the road they can pull that car over and if they determine that the person is under the influence they can arrest them.
A police officer can arrest somebody on a felony if the crime is not committed in their presence if they have probable cause to believe that person committed a felony. Probable cause is they have to justifiable reasons or information or evidence that, that person committed a felony. If they have that they can go ahead an arrest that person. Now a really interesting part of the law of arrest when can a police officer go into somebody’s home and arrest them. So someone’s home is their castle there is a lot of privacy rights around your home or
apartment, but there are special reasons and special times when a police officer can go into some one’s home. If they are in hot pursuit of somebody in other words they are chasing somebody outside the home and the person runs into a particular house.The police officer does not have to stop at the door the police officer can chase them inside the house and arrest them. Another time a police officer can go into somebody’s house to arrest them is if they believe that somebody is in danger.
If the police office has a sincere belief that somebody’s in danger then they can break down the door and go into somebody’s house and arrest them. The third way they can go into somebody’s house and arrest them is if they have permission from one of the residents at the house and if they ask for permission and the permission is given then the police officer can enter the house and arrest that person. So, those are the different ways that a police officer can arrest a person without an arrest
warrant. For more information on the law of arrest please visit my website it’s at www.sfcriminallawspecialist.com follow me on Twitter and Facebook. You can click onto those at my homepage of my website. Also you can call me if you have any questions about the law of arrest (415) 552-1215.
An Arrest Without a Warrant
Criminal Defense Attorney – Christopher Morales
Practice Area: The San Francisco Bay Area, California
Call us today for a free consultation (415) 552-1215 (Se Habla Español)
Website: www.sfcriminallawspecialist.com
