Arrest, Commitment, Bail, & Recognizances Flashcards
Arrest warrants may be issued by…
a judge, magistrate, or clerk.
To issue an arrest warrant, the issuing person must…
examine the complainant and other witnesses under oath to determine that probable cause exists.
An arrest warrant must:
- Describe the offense charged with reasonable certainty;
- Specifically name or describe the accused;
- Be directed to the appropriate officers;
- Command the person named be arrested and brought before the appropriate court; and
- Be signed by the magistrate.
An officer may arrest, without a warrant, any person who…
- Committed any crime in the officer’s presence; or
- Whom the officer reasonably suspects has committed a crime not in the officer’s presence.
By statute, an arrest is not authorized in most circumstances for violations of many ordinances and minor misdemeanors. Instead, the officer is to issue a…
summons.
An officer may make a warrantless arrest for an assault & battery not committed in the officer’s presence when…
the arrest is based on probable cause upon the reasonable complaint of an eyewitness.
If conduct prompting an arrest occurs in the officer’s presence, an arrest resulting from mistake of law should be judged by…
whether the officer acted in good faith and with reasonable belief in the validity of the arrest.
At a hospital, police may arrest without a warrant a person involved in a motor vehicle accident if they have…
reasonable grounds to believe that a crime arising from the accident was committed by the arrestee.
No warrant is needed to arrest for misdemeanors…
- Not committed in the presence of the police when motor vehicles are involved;
- For shoplifting when the officer has probable cause based upon the complaint of an eyewitness;
- When the officer receives a telephone or radio message that there is a warrant on file for the offense;
- When the police receive an electronic message describing the suspect and alleging such person would flee the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth; and
- Where the police have reasonable grounds to believe that a person committed an assault and battery against a family or household member; or
- When made by a correctional officer relating to prisoner escape from a correctional instituion.
When in close pursuit, an officer may arrest a person outside of the officer’s jurisdiction and return the accused if the arrest is made in…
an adjoining county or corporation.
If a close pursuit arrest is not made in an adjoining locality, the officer must…
bring the accused before a magistrate in the jurisdiction to have the warrant issued.
If the accused was arrested with a warramt, the accused must be brought before the judicial officer and the latter may proceed directly to trial if:
- The official is a judge of a district court having jurisdiction to try the accused;
- The offense is a misdemeanor; and
- The accused consents and the Commonwealth does not object.
If an accused was arrested without a warrant, the accused must be brought…
before a judicial officer who will either issue a warrant or release them.
An officer may not hold an arrested person for an…
unreasonable length of time.
Bail is generally set…
in fixed amounts, depending on the gravity of a charge.
An individual may appeal immediately on an interlocutory basis for decisions…
denying bail, excessive bail, or unreasonable terms of recognizance.
Bail may be denied if there is…
probable cause to believe that the accused will not appear to trial or if he constitutes an unreasonable danger to themself or the public.
Bail may be revoked for…
the same reasons for which it may be initially denied.
An accused charged with a felony has a right to a…
preliminary hearing.
When an indictment is returned prior to a preliminary hearing, the accused…
no longer has a right to a preliminary hearing.
Failure to adhere to the requirement to give one accused of a felony a right to a preliminary hearing is…
a reversible error.
A reversible error is an error in trial proceedings that…
affect’s a party’s rights so significantly that it is grounds for reversal if the affected party properly objected at trial.
A defect in the right to a preliminary hearing is deemed waived if not…
objected to prior to trial.
Joint preliminary hearings (are/are not) allowed.
are, on the prosecutor’s motion, against defendants concerning the same illegal action.
The Commonwealth has no right to dsicovery where the accused…
does not make a motion for discovery (or withdraws a motion already made).
The Commonwealth’s right to discovery attaches only after…
the defense has been permitted some discovery of the state’s case.
