Know Your Rights When Arrested WHEN YOU ARE ARRESTED

•  WHAT IS AN ARREST? - If you have been taken into custody or been restrained in any manner so that you can be made to answer for an offense or a crime (felony or misdemeanor) you have been arrested. Many people believe that if they have only been given an Appearance Ticket requiring them to appear in Court and not physically taken into custody that they have not been arrested. This is not so.
  

• Arrest with a Warrant - A Warrant is a document, issued by a Court, that authorizes your arrest. Once you have been told by the police that they are acting under the authority of a Warrant, if you do not voluntarily surrender to the Police, they may use force to enter the premises where you are to effect the arrest.
   

• Arrest without a Warrant - You can be arrested by the police without a Warrant if the police reasonably believe:

  
  

  • You have committed a crime (misdemeanor or felony as defined by NY statutes)

  • You are in the process of committing a crime, violation or offense, basically any violation of law.

  • you were lawfully arrested in a citizens arrest.
    
    

• If the police come to your home to arrest you for a crime without a Warrant they cannot enter to place you under arrest. Beware the Police asking you to step outside so that they can "talk to you" or the next words you will hear may well be "You are under arrest". While you will not ultimately frustrate an arrest by denying the Police access to your home, you may be able to secure counsel and make arrangements for the arrest which will minimize or eliminate the time you will have to spend in jail before you are brought before a Judge for your arraignment.
    

• Citizen's Arrest - We've all heard about citizen's arrests  but few have ever been involved in one. They are extremely rare because they are potentially dangerous for the untrained individual who attempts to effect one (you may use reasonable force to resist an unlawful arrest being made by a private citizen - NOT one being made by the police)  and have the potential of civil liability for the individual who mistakenly makes such an arrest.  An individual may make an arrest if:
  
  

  • You have committed a felony

  • You have committed a non-felony crime in his presence.

  • You have committed an Offense in his presence (but only in the County where the offense was committed)
    

  A private person acting on his or her own account may use physical force, other than deadly physical force, upon another person when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to effect an arrest or to prevent the escape from custody of a person whom he or she reasonably believes to have committed an offense and who in fact has committed such offense; and may use deadly physical force for such purpose when he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to:

  (a) Defend himself, herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of deadly physical force; or
  
  (b) Effect the arrest of a person who has committed murder, manslaughter in the first degree, robbery, forcible rape or forcible criminal sexual act and who is in immediate flight therefrom.
   

• Questioning - If you are in a public place the police are allowed to approach you to request information if they reasonably believe that you are committing, have committed or are about to commit a crime. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS. It may well be good practice to provide your name and address but going beyond that can have disastrous results. Most people talk themselves deeper into trouble and rarely out if it. Have an attorney present for any police questioning.
   

•  Right to Counsel - First and foremost you must understand that you have the right to counsel at every stage in a criminal proceeding. Retaining counsel immediately upon becoming aware that you are about to become involved in any criminal charge may be the difference between the dismissal of charges and your conviction. Far too often individuals believe they can somehow explain away their conduct. You almost never can and the results are almost always disastrous. Any statement made to the police (other than name, address, etc.) has the ability to impact negatively on the outcome of your case.
  
  

• Search
  
  

  • Warrantless - If you are placed under arrest you may be searched and the area immediately around you may be as well. This does not give the police unlimited search power. Errors by the police in going beyond the permissible search area abound.

    If the police stop you for questioning and the police reasonably believes he may be in danger due to weapons within your reach he may search your person and a reasonable "grab zone" around you for weapons and other dangerous instrumentalities. This is another area subject to abuse which can result in the dismissal of charges against you.
    

  • With a Search Warrant - A Judge may sign an Order allowing a police officer to search a designated place or individual for specified items believed to be or which might exist at the location searched. Other illegal items found during an otherwise lawful search may be seized as well.