I’m not sure why this question popped into my head (and at 2 in the morning), but here goes: we’ve all heard the term “citizen’s arrest” and I’m wondering whether or not this notion has any legal validity to it. Do, or did, any states or towns have legal protocols for folks to make a “citizen’s arrest”? (And if so, can one be charged for “resisting a citizen’s arrest”?!)
Yeah, there’s such a thing. Read this article, it explains tons. The five-cent version: if a citizen witnesses a crime, in most cases, the citizen can arrest the criminal. Some states give more leeway, some less.
I’m not an attorney but having checked this one out in the past, this is my understanding.
Here, in California, any citizen can verbally tell someone who has committed a criminal act (in the citizen’s opinion): I am making a citizen’s arrest. Theoretically the arrested person is supposed to wait for a cop to come…but if the arrestee laughs and drives away the arrestor needs witnesses, license plate etc.
If the arrestor cannot prove his case, the arrestee can sue the Citizen big time and the arrestor may wind up with big lawyers’ bills and a chronic enemy.
As a result, a Citizen’s arrest is not done very often.
The Master’s [url=“http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_146.html”]take on the subject*.
godlesscommie, welcome to The Straight Dope. One thing that makes finding the answers to questions easier is searching the archive of Cecil’s columns to see if he’s already answered the question. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you might also search the message board to see if anyone’s asked your question and had it answered before.
- Rick
Well, I have made a quite a few of them myself, so I can tell you without a doubt. I used to work security, primarily in bars, and this was a normal part of my job. In Texas, the only state I know the law concerning this, a private citizen can make an arrest for any felony or breach of the public peace committed in thier presence. In other words, around here, you cant make a citizens arrest for littering, but you can for more serious offenses, and for things like public intoxication, assault, criminal tresspass, use of abusive language in a public place, and a bunch of others that fall under the heading of disorderly conduct.
In Texas, we can use any force, short of deadly force, that we deem neccesary to affect the arrest. The person, once arrested, can only be released by a magistrate(this is not enforced in real life, as the police will often turn them lose for various reasons)