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Citation in lieu of arrest and release decisions
Summary of the topic
Article 14.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure starts from a default. Under subsection (a), a person who has been arrested must be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and not later than 48 hours after the arrest, so that the magistrate can give the article 15.17 warnings. Subsections (b), (c) and (d) then carve out the cases where an officer may write a citation and release the person instead.
The topic is easiest to learn as two separate powers with different conditions.
The Class C power in subsection (b) is wide. A peace officer charging a person, including a child, with a Class C misdemeanor may issue a citation, except for public intoxication under Penal Code section 49.02. The power does not depend on where the person lives. The citation must contain five things: written notice of the time and place to appear before a magistrate, the name and address of the person charged, the offense charged, information about alternatives to full payment of any fine or costs for a person who is unable to pay, and the firearm admonishment in the words the statute prescribes.
The Class A and B power in subsection (c) is narrow. It applies only if the person resides in the county where the offense occurred, and only to the offenses on the closed list in subsection (d). That list includes possession of marihuana and of a synthetic cannabinoid at the levels named, criminal mischief, graffiti, theft, theft of service, tampering with a temporary tag, contraband in a correctional facility, and driving while license invalid, each limited to the punishment level the subsection names. A Class A theft or a Class A criminal mischief is outside the list, as is any felony. The citation under subsection (c) must contain the notice of time and place, the person's name and address, and the offense charged.
Custody and a magistrate are required whenever neither power fits. That covers public intoxication, any Class A or B misdemeanor that is not on the subsection (d) list, such as assault or driving while intoxicated, a listed offense committed by a person who does not reside in the county where it occurred, and every felony.
Both powers are discretionary, because the statute says an officer may issue a citation and never says must. An officer who decides that a listed offense by a county resident calls for an arrest may still take the person before a magistrate.
Provisions this topic covers
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 14.06(b), (c) and (d)
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