I understand that laws vary from country to country and even within the United States from state to state, but I can’t count the number of movies I have seen in which a police official has told un unarrested suspect “Don’t leave town.” Is there any legal basis for a policeman restricting the travel of someone who is not under arrest?
I’ve often wondered about this myself. It’s never been said to me, and wouldn’t matter if I was in my home town. I don’t like to travel.
But if I am a tourist in, say, New York, I’d have to tell the cop that if he wanted me to stay he’d better arrest me because I can go wherever I want, any time I want.
Or maybe I’d just better keep my mouth shut and go. As far as I know, nothing is official unless a judge says so.
Any lawyers want to let me know if I’d get in trouble for this?
Haven’t got an answer, but I’ve often wondered myself what legal force, if any, was behind the warning. Presumably if you told them that you were going to leave town anyway, they could hold you as a material witness or whatever.
But let’s say you didn’t advertise your intentions, ignored the warning not to leave town and went on a world cruise. Let’s also say that you were in fact a witness vital to the prosecution and their case collapsed in your absence. Have you broken any law by ignoring the warning?
IANAL but the “Don’t leave town” thing always seemed bogus. The implication is that you’re a prime suspect. If they think they have enough evidence, they can arrest you; if they don’t arrest you, you ought to be free to go. If they arrest you and you’re out on bail, I guess there would be some provisions to that.
But when I write the above, I’m thinking about the America I grew up in. Given the “Patriot Act,” what we’ve seen about Gitmo, illegal wiretaps…it’s anybody’s guess these days. :rolleyes:
ETA: Even if they needed you as a witness, why can’t you give your info and be on your way? Say you witness a murder while on vacation…the trial might not be for months. Are you supposed to wait around till then?
What it really is is a “gentleman’s agreement.” The police have a right to detain you without charging you, usually for 24-72 hours depending on local laws etc.
So the cops are basically saying “Don’t leave and we’ll not harrass you.” If you try to leave we’ll arrest you and hold you for as long as possible in an uncomfortable jail and God knows what’ll happen to you in that jail before you can make bail IF you can make it."
So the cops watch you and everyone is happy as the cops don’t have to house and feed you, you don’t have to be in a crummy jail and it’s a solution.
Unless you are under court order not to leave you have the right to travel.
Conversely it’s the same thing when the sheriff says to the crook, “Get out of this county and don’t let us see you back here.” In fact way back when I was starting out in life I lived on State Line Road in Calument City (IL)/ Hammond (IN) a notorious red light district. And you could see the cops literally dump the drunks and hooker on the other side of the road to avoid a problem and say “Don’t come back.”
Huh. I’m disappointed about the lack of actual lawyers weighing in. Frankly, this is a damn good question, and one I’ve always wondered about, too. C’mon, Perry Masons of the world…how about it?
Does it actually happen in real life though? Or is this one of those things (like drawing chalk lines around corpses) that happens predominantly, or exclusively in the movies?
When I was a prosecutor, felony defendants were usually warned that they couldn’t leave the county before trial without the permission of the court. I was sure that there’s an Ohio Revised Code provision to that effect, but after a fruitless ten minutes of searching online I’ll be damned if I can find it. I’ll ask around.
Right, but that’s a judicial order.
The OP is asking if the cops can keep you from leaving their jurisdiction during an investigation, to which the general answer is no- you are either under arrest, in custody, or neither.
So it would seem. I just asked a current prosecutor, who said she’s never heard of that being done, and a judge, who said it’s invariably part of the conditions of bond, but isn’t specifically authorized by the Revised Code.
I always thought it wasn’t so much a binding order as advice:
not 'legally I forbid you from leaving town" but “If you leave town without telling us, we’re going to consider that very suspicious… maybe suspicious enough to get a warrant to bring you back”