Danciger, TX Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

The Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures extends to arrests. The general rule is that warrantless arrests are presumptively unreasonable, but there are exceptions. Generally they require an officer to have probable cause you committed an offense. There is no precise definition of probable cause, as it depends on the totality of the circumstances in the particular case. Generally it is a reasonable belief that the person to be arrested has committed a crime, based on facts and circumstances particular to that person. Put another way, probable cause exists where the police have reasonably trustworthy information that would cause a reasonable person to believe that a particular person has committed or is committing an offense. The Fourth Amendment applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. In Texas, where you are from, there are specific statutes governing warrantless arrests. Once you establish that the arrest was made without a warrant, the state has the burden of showing that your arrest falls within one of these statutory provisions. For example, under Texas law, police officers can arrest without a warrant for any offense committed in their presence or within their view. An officer can also arrest when he or she does not personally have probable cause, but relies on information ramounting to probable cause elayed by other officers. A warrantless arrest may also be allowed if an officer personally observes behavior that is not overtly criminal, but when coupled with other information possessed by the officer, probable cause is established. If an arrest is invalid due to a lack of probable cause, evidence discovered as a result of the arrest is subject to suppression as the "fruit" of the illegal arrest. When you are arrested without a warrant, you can be booked into jail and bond will be set. The District Attorney then has a certain amount of time, prescribed by statute, to file charges against you. Since the determination as to whether a warrantless arrest is valid, based on probable cause, is so dependent on the particular facts and circumstances, I recommend you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney who can evaluate the facts in your case and advise you as to the likelihood it will be upheld or declared invalid.