Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Work
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: CA
I don't have a ticket but do notice city police officers writing tickets to violators in different counties ... example city cop (not CHP) writing a citation in 91 Express Lanes in Riverside County or Orange County. What ever happened to jurisdictional limits ?
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
In California, any sworn officer can ticket a violation anywhere in the State. There's no "Duke's of Hazard" run-for-the-county-line so the sheriff can't get you.
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
Carl who posts here is a CA officer, and he has stated they have statewide jurisdiction, as my state technically does also.
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
So what situation prevents any CA law enforcement officer from making an arrest in any CA county ? If none then why have jurisdictions ?
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
"So what situation prevents any CA law enforcement officer from making an arrest in any CA county ?"
Nothing.
"If none then why have jurisdictions ? "
Well, I answered your original question about what the law is.
If you wish to challenge the law to have it changed to what you would prefer it to be, I suggest you contact representatives in the state legislature. If you want to debate your opinion of what the law should be, I'd suggest that this is not the proper forum for that.
We, here, are not the advocates of any law. We are merely trying to help people who need help to understand the laws that apply a little better.
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
Quote:
Quoting
jcmps821
I don't have a ticket but do notice city police officers writing tickets to violators in different counties ... example city cop (not CHP) writing a citation in 91 Express Lanes in Riverside County or Orange County. What ever happened to jurisdictional limits ?
The answer is lengthy, and can sound convoluted, but can be found in part in Penal Code sections 830.1(a)(1)-(3).
In short, local officers have what are often referred to as "primary" jurisdictions. These are the jurisdictions in which the officer primarily works and for which he can enforce all state and local laws. An officer in CA has jurisdiction throughout the state of CA and can enforce the law for any public offense he observes in the course of his duties or for which he has probable cause to believe has occurred.
Many counties in the state have inter-county MOUs that allow an officer from within that county to enforce the law anywhere within the county and even issue citations to that agency's home court (if in another part of the county). Since courts are county based, an officer in city A will generally have no problem issuing a citation in city B provided they are within the same county. If outside his primary jurisdiction and the county within he works, the officer can still effect a detention or arrest for a public offense but would have to request a local or state (CHP) officer to respond to issue the citation into the local court.
When I worked in San Diego County, I once attended the CA Peace Officer Memorial in Sacramento. On the way home, we pulled over a reckless driver on I-5 south of Sacramento. We called the CHP who issued the citation, though we were the "arresting" officers. So, even hundreds of miles from home, we have jurisdiction over public offenses that occur in our presence.
Finally, it is common practice throughout the state of CA that any new agency head will send out a letter to every other agency in the state granting that agency permission to enforce state laws within its jurisdictional boundaries. This pretty much smooths over any such squabbles in court over jurisdiction or not.
- Carl
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
Scott67 ...
Sorry if you thought I was challenging the law ... but I wasn't and I don't plan to change it either. I guess I'm still stuck in the Smokey & the Bandit myth !
Quote:
Quoting
Scott67
"So what situation prevents any CA law enforcement officer from making an arrest in any CA county ?"
Nothing.
"If none then why have jurisdictions ? "
Well, I answered your original question about what the law is.
If you wish to challenge the law to have it changed to what you would prefer it to be, I suggest you contact representatives in the state legislature. If you want to debate your opinion of what the law should be, I'd suggest that this is not the proper forum for that.
We, here, are not the advocates of any law. We are merely trying to help people who need help to understand the laws that apply a little better.
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
Quote:
Quoting
jcmps821
Scott67 ...
Sorry if you thought I was challenging the law ... but I wasn't and I don't plan to change it either. I guess I'm still stuck in the Smokey & the Bandit myth !
It is a common myth.
I recall once being on a freeway in a marked PD unit and being passed by a guy doing more than 100 MPH. I sped up to catch him, got behind him and hit my lights ... he kept yielding to the right and trying to wave me around him for about 3 miles until he finally yielded to the right side of the freeway. Upon contact, the first words out of his mouth were, "You can't stop me, you're not the Highway Patrol, you have no jurisdiction here!" I advised him that if he was right, he'd have no trouble gaining an acquittal.
When I returned, I asked him to sign the citation, "Press hard, three copies." He noted that the court assigned was from MY part of the county which was more than an hour and a half from where he lived, and he complained that I could not cite him there, either. I informed him of the inter-county MOU and suggested he could seek a change of venue to his local court (which would have been massive overtime for me - door-to-door, plus two hours court minimum, would have been 5 hours or so). Fascinating, I never saw him at court. He plead guilty and paid his fines and did traffic school.
- Carl
Re: Can California Peace Officers Write Tickets in Counties Other Than Where They Wor
More often than not, the place where jurisdiction often comes in happens behind the scenes and has to do with which agency responds to a call for service. For example, an accident occurs at an intersection. If the crash happened more towards one side than another, it can impact which agency has jurisdiction (since such lines often occur in conjunction with roadways) - meaning, which has responsibility to respond. In my town we have an intersection lovingly known in the law enforcement community as "four corners" - because 4 different agencies in 2 different counties all meet at that intersection - each having one corner and partial jurisdiction over at least one lane. Where the INITIAL impact of 2 cars happened can be the determining factor in who has to write up the report (usually wherever the most glass drops - but they'll even fight about that). This dance usually happens behind the scenes, with law enforcement dispatchers duking it out on the phone and intercity radio to figure out whose officer needs to be enroute.
The other type of jurisdiction issue might be thought of as subject matter jurisdiction. For example, in Florida, squirrels are considered nuisance wildlife. A property owner can trap and kill them on their own property at will with no license and no restrictions other than that the death must be brought about in "a humane fashion" (typically shooting, since steel traps are illegal, and so is poisoning). So say you see someone capture a squirrel and put it in a cage and poke it with a stick for hours to torture it. Whose jurisdiction is it? Animal control will tell you that they don't do squirrels (they do cats and dogs), and that if there's a crime occurring that you need a law enforcement agency.The state wildlife commission law enforcement division will tell you that squirrels are considered nuisance wildlife that are not regulated or protected by the state. Nope, they're not going to respond. Instead, they're going to refer you to your city police or sheriff's office - because the trapping isn't an issue under Florida law - the issue is cruelty to animals - which is handled by the agency of local jurisdiction.
Similarly, some specific types of crimes get response of a specific agency, regardless of whose jurisdiction it might otherwise fall under (the Secret Service responds to counterfeiting, my particular agency responds to any death caused on state waterways, and so on). So jurisdiction occurs at multiple levels - but mostly doesn't impact the public, but rather responding agencies.