Do the Police Have to See You Commit a Misdemeanor Before Arresting You?

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution generally forbids law enforcement from arresting individuals without a warrant unless there is “probable cause” to support such an arrest. Florida law further states that a police officer can only make a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor offense when it is committed “in the presence of [an] officer.” In other words, if the officer sees you commit what appears to be a misdemeanor, the officer can lawfully arrest you without a warrant.

Loitering Arrest Turns Into Federal Stolen-Mail Prosecution

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, however, recently clarified that as far as the Fourth Amendment is concerned, there is no “in-the-presence requirement” for a warrantless misdemeanor arrest. The case before the 11th Circuit, United States v. Gonzalez, started out as a simple loitering case in Florida. It later escalated to a federal criminal prosecution.

Here is what happened. Early one morning, police received a 911 call reporting a “white male casing the area and traveling westbound.” Two officers took the call. One officer went to speak with the 911 caller, who further elaborated he saw a “Latin male” with a backpack and black clothes looking into various residents’ mailboxes. The other officer simultaneously identified a suspect–the defendant in this case–who matched the caller’s description.

The defendant was homeless and living out of his car. He said he was walking through the neighborhood because he could not sleep. The officers proceeded to arrest the defendant for “loitering and prowling,” a misdemeanor under Florida law. When the officers searched the defendant’s backpack following his arrest, however, they found 37 pieces of sealed mail taken from the neighborhood’s mailboxes.

Stealing mail is a federal offense. A federal grand jury indicted the defendant on four counts of possessing stolen mail. Before the trial court, the defendant moved to suppress the mail recovered from his backpack, arguing that the original misdemeanor arrest was unlawful because he did not commit the alleged offense–loitering and prowling–in the presence of the officers. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. The defendant then agreed to plead guilty to one count of stolen mail possession while reserving his right to appeal.

On appeal, the 11th Circuit agreed with the trial court’s ruling. The appellate court held the Fourth Amendment “does not require a misdemeanor to occur in an officer’s presence to conduct a warrantless arrest.” While the officer’s presence can be used to establish probable cause for a warrantless arrest, federal common law–as opposed to Florida statutory law–did not contain any strict in-presence requirement. Instead, the question here was whether the “totality of the circumstances” created probable cause. The 11th Circuit said in this case, it did.

Contact AsiliA Law Firm Today

Federal criminal offenses often carry far stiffer penalties than their state-law counterparts. So if you are facing such charges and need legal representation from a qualified Miami federal crimes attorney, call AsiliA Law Firm today at 786-420-3014 or contact us online to schedule an initial consultation.

Source:

media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202310578.pdf