Florida Arrest Laws

Florida citizens have certain rights when it comes to arrest.handcuffs image by William Berry from Fotolia.com

In Florida, like in any other state, arrests may be made with or without a warrant. For either case, the 2009 Florida statutes included laws that govern arrest, and officers of the peace are required to follow these laws. If you are arrested, it is useful to know the 2009 Florida statutes that apply to arrest in order to protect your rights as a citizen of Florida and the United States.

Warranted Arrest

Warrants for arrest are issued under specific circumstances. If a trial court judge, after hearing testimony from complainants and witnesses, determines that there is a reasonable amount of evidence against you, then the judge may then issue a warrant for your arrest. The warrant is then given to the Florida Sheriff's departments, where it is executed by the Sheriff of the county in which the arrest is made. The only time that another Sheriff may execute a warrant is in pursuit, i.e., a car chase. An arrest for a warrant may be made at any time.

There are many restrictions on arrests made without a warrant. If you are legally arrested, you must have committed a felony in the presence of an officer or the officer must believe that a felony has been committed and you are responsible. Probable cause for domestic violence, child abuse, battery, criminal mischief and safety zone violation are required for an arrest. The arrests for the first four can be made without the consent of the victim. These arrests must be made by a Florida law-enforcement officer, either full-time or part time, regardless of whether he is on duty.

Florida's "Stop and Frisk" law provides provisions for temporary detainment. You can be temporarily detained in Florida if an officer reasonably believes that you have committed, are committing or will commit a crime. The officer is allowed to do this in order to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crime, including investigation of witnesses. Even though you may be temporarily detained, law enforcement officers are not allowed to detain you for longer than is necessary to investigate and the detention cannot be moved to another location. In other words, a law enforcement officer is not allowed to pull you over, place you in handcuffs in the back of his car and then go talk to witnesses in another part of a city. However, if probable cause is shown by the officer's investigation, he is allowed to arrest you.