Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 3, Parts 400 to 629]
[Revised as of July 1, 1999]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO
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[CITE: 32CFR503.1]
[Page 15]
TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
CHAPTER V--DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
PART 503--APPREHENSION AND
RESTRAINT--Table of Contents
Sec. 503.1 Persons not subject to military law.
Persons not subject to military law may be apprehended
or restrained by members of the Department of the Army,
other than in foreign countries, as follows:
(a) General. All members of the Department of the Army
having the ordinary right and duty of citizens to assist in
the maintenance of the peace. Where, therefore, a felony
or a misdemeanor amounting to a breach of the peace is
being committed in his presence, it is the right and duty of
every member of the military service, as of every civilian,
to apprehend the perpetrator.
(b) Restraint. The restraint imposed under the provisions
of paragraph (a) of this section will not exceed that
reasonably necessary, nor extend beyond such time as
may be required to dispose of the case by orderly transfer
of custody to civil authority or otherwise, under the law.
(c) Ejection. Persons not subject to military law who are
found within the limits of military reservations in the act of
committing a breach of regulations, not amounting to a
felony or a breach of the peace, may be removed
therefrom upon orders from the commanding officer and
ordered by him not to reenter. For penalty imposed upon
reentrance after ejection, see title 18, United States Code,
section 1382.
(Sec. 3012, 70A Stat. 157; 10 U.S.C. 3012)
[28 FR 2732, Mar. 20, 1963]
and why is this only in the US and not overseas?
If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
Harry S. Truman
Just my conjecture here, but it is probably because it is based on the rights and duties of an American citizen under American law as noted in part a (the so-called “citizen’s arrest”) Thus it would not be applicable where American law is not applicable. So yes, you can be arrested by a PFC, just like you can be arrested by your garbageman, the old lady across the street, or anyone else.
Yes, it sure does … and like it says, IF “a felony or a misdemeanor amounting to a breach of the peace is being committed in his presence”.
It should not be construed as some “UN/new world order” case of King George III’s troops entering our homes and rifling through our things, which I feel the tone of the OP implies.
It’s no big deal to encourage in writing that servicemen assist - to the best of their abilities and within the bounds of safety - in the termination of a felony or misdemeanor in progress and right there in front of him. It’s merely reinforcing the obvious.
The legal mumbo-jumbo referred to above that precludes US citizens from making a citizen’s arrest overseas is a Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which describes in excruciating detail the legal relationship between US military members, their families, US civilian employees of DoD, or DoD contractors.
Everything from vehicle inspection to how to get a fishing license to jurisdiction in murder cases is covered in these documents. Service members, but not family members, are required to attend a briefing outlining key provisions of SOFA for where they are stationed within a month of arriving.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
Gee, a little legal knowledge is a dangerous thing…
Please note you were quoting the Code of Federal Regulations, NOT the US Code. The CFR is essentially an interpretation of federal laws passed by Congress; the CFR by itself essentially does not empower the federal government to take any action not otherwise authorized by the US Code (read: federal law).
And allow me to quote 18 USC which refers to military personnel acting as a posse comitatus to enforce domestic law:
Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
And the reasons you won’t find any section of the US Code or the CFRs dealing with the right and duty of citizens to arrest other citizens for breach of peace is that:
Breach of the Peace is a State-and-local-level issue, not a Federal-level one; and
