Judges: WINSTON BRYANT, Attorney General
Filed Date: 10/10/1991
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
The Honorable Charlie Cole Chaffin State Senator Route 3, Box 1057 Benton, AR 72015
Dear Senator Chaffin:
This is in response to your request for an opinion on the following question:
If a police officer is in fresh pursuit with blue lights and siren on and stops someone outside the city limits for an infringement of the law which occurred in the city limits and that person resists arrest, can they charge him for resisting arrest and it be held in City Court?
In my opinion, the answer to your question is "no." As noted herein below, it appears that all charges arising out of this course of conduct would best be filed in a court with county-wide jurisdiction.
The jurisdiction of city courts is set out in A.C.A. §
City and police courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all prosecutions and actions for infractions of the bylaws or ordinances of the city or town in which they are located, concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts and justices' courts of prosecutions for misdemeanors committed in the town or city, and also concurrent jurisdiction in the cases provided by the special statutes creating or regulating such courts.
See also A.C.A. §
You indicate that the offense in question, resisting arrest, occurred outside the city limits. For that reason, even though the offense is a misdemeanor under state law, see A.C.A. §
While the fact that the officer was in fresh pursuit of the individual would extend the officer's arrest authority beyond the boundaries of the city, see A.C.A. §
The foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve, was prepared by Assistant Attorney General Catherine Templeton.
Sincerely,
Winston Bryant Attorney General
WB/CCT:ch