Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1978 )

The Attorney General of Texas
June 27, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable James McGrath Opinion No. H- 1196
Criminal District Attorney
Jefferson County Re: Validity of arrest based on
Beaumont, Texas 77704 teletyped warrant.
Dear Mr. Smith:
You ask whether local law enforcement officers may arrest someone
under the authority of an arrest warrant teletyped from another law
enforcement agency. Article 15.26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
provides as follows with respect to arrest under warrant:
The officer need not have the warrant in his possession
at the time of the arrest, provided the warrant was
issued under the provisions of this Code, but upon
request he shall show the warrant to the defendant as
soon as possible.
Article 15.26 has been held to authorize arrests by officers who had
knowledge of a warrant but did not have possession of it. Rutled e v. State
458 S.W.2d 670 (Tex. Crim. App. 1970); Howard v. State, 45- S.W.2d 150 Tex.
Crim. App. 1970). In Cook v. State, 470 S.W.2d 898 (Tex. Crim. App. 1971).
the sheriff’s department was informed by telephone call from another law
enforcement agency that a warrant had been issued for the defendant. The
arresting officers had only the warrant number, not a warrant. The court
found the arrest valid under article 15.26 and upheld the search and seizure
incident to the arrest. See also Bradle v. State 478 S.W.2d 527 (Tex. Crim.
App. 1972); Pangarakis v. State, 468
-. S.W.2d 79 Tex. Cram. App. 1971).
In our opinion, a law enforcement officer who learns of an outstanding
arrest warrant through teletype message may make an arrest under its
authority, even though he does not possess the warrant. Article 15.26 of
course requires that the warrant have been issued under the Code of Criminal
Procedure. We note that Attorney General Opinion WW-737 (1959) states that
an officer must have a warrant with him at the time of the arrest. However,
that opinion relied on a predecessor of article 15.26 which was amended in
1967 to authorize arrest without possession of a warrant.
P. 4809
Honorable James McGrath - Page 2 (H-1196)
ln view of our answer to your question, we need not discuss article 15.08 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure which authorizes the forwarding of arrest warrants
by telegraph.
SUMMARY
Article 15.26 authorizes law enforcement officers to make
arrests under warrant without having possession of it. If the
arresting officer learns of an outstanding warrant through a
teletype message from a law enforcement agency, he may
make an arrest under its authority.
Very truly yours,
DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant
Opinion Committee
P. 4810