Warrant & Jurisdiction

Question 1

What are the two exceptions that a police officer can arrest a person without an arrest warrant?

Answer 1

1. The police officer has reason to believe that the arrestee has committed an offense specified by statute (e.g. child abuse or domestic violence)
2. A misdemeanor or felony was committed in the officer’s presence

Question 2

What is the process of obtaining an arrest warrant?

Answer 2

1. The arrest warrant must be signed by the court (electronic signature is okay)
2. The police officer must provide an affidavit based on probable cause. The affidavit is a sworn statement by the police officer stating that he has a reasonable belief based on a number of facts and circumstances that an offense has been committed.

Question 3

What are the 7 items required in an arrest warrant?

Answer 3

1. Caption of the State of Florida
2. Identity of the D (with a photograph if available)
3. Nature of the offense
4. Date the warrant is issued
   5 County where the warrant is issued
5. Amount of bail
6. Signature of the judge

Question 4

Method of arrests

Answer 4

The arresting officer must state the reason why they are arresting the person, and show the arrestee the arrest warrant as soon as possible. The arrest officer, however, can not search the arrestee’s property without a valid search warrant.

Question 5

What are the 4 P’s required an affidavit that is used to obtain a search warrant?

Answer 5

1. PROBABLE CAUSE that evidence used in the commission of the crime will be found,
2. PERSON to be searched,
3. PLACE to be searched, and
4. PROPERTY to be seized.

Question 6

What are the requirements and rules for obtaining a search warrant in Florida?

Answer 6

1. Must be signed by a judge (electronically or physically),
2. Must contain the 4 P’s (Probable cause, Person, Place, and Property seized),
3. Must be executed and returned with 10 days of it being issued, and
4. Cannot be executed at night or on a Sunday unless authorized by the court.

Question 7

Florida Stop and Frisk Law

Answer 7

The STOP requires a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or will commit a crime, and the FRISK requires a reasonable suspicion that the person is armed with a dangerous weapon.
NOTE: If probable cause is discovered, then the person will be arrested. If, however, evidence is discovered or seized without the required reasonable suspicion, then the evidence may be excluded.

Question 8

What are the four types of courts in Florida?

Answer 8

1. County Courts
2. Circuit Courts
3. District Court of Appeals
4. Florida Supreme Court

Question 9

What types of cases do the county courts have jurisdiction over?

Answer 9

Misdemeanor cases not attached to felonies

Question 10

What types of cases do the circuit courts have jurisdiction over?

Answer 10

1. Felonies
2. Misdemeanors attached to felonies
3. Juvenile cases

Question 11

What types of cases do the District Court of Appeals have jurisdiction over?

Answer 11

Appellate jurisdiction over:

1. Interlocutory appeals
2. Final judgments of trial courts

Question 12

What types of cases does the Florida Supreme Court have jurisdiction over?

Answer 12

Appellate jurisdiction over:

1. All final judgments on death penalty cases
2. Issues certified by the District Court of Appeals to be of great importance, and
3. District Court of Appeals interpretation on constitutional validity