TexasCHLforum.com

JP171 wrote:Actually the police can arrest you and never charge you, happens all the time texas law allows a window before you are actually charged and still in custody, i think its 72 hours

juggernaut wrote:Not all arrests lead to an indictment. Not even all felony arrests.

srothstein wrote:

Scott in Houston wrote:

johnson0317 wrote:Scott,

I have read on here, from LEOs, that a simple traffic stop is considered an arrest. Perhaps the definition of "arrest" could be clarified by someone?

RJ

Interesting... Good point and question...

As I understood it, a traffic stop is definitely being 'detained'. I guess I can see where it would be an "arrest" in order to ensure you provide your proper Drivers License and paperwork. Otherwise, under the law, you don't have to show those things when being only detained (not arrested), so at a traffic stop, you wouldn't have to give your drivers license, etc... That wouldn't work, right?
I guess it's a form of arrest, but I'd like to hear from someone of authority... either an LEO or an attorney.

Actually, there is a separate law requiring the presentation of a DL when asked by a peace officer if operating a motor vehicle. It does not come under the failure to identify law in the penal code. I think there are a couple other similar special laws in various codes, like presenting a hunting license to a game warden.

But a traffic stop is definitely an arrest. The laws make this very clear and it was further clarified by the Court of Criminal Appeals. Part of the court's logic was that Chapter 543 authorizes an arrest and specifies that the person will be released on a signed promise to appear (ticket) in certain cases and taken to a magistrate in others.

And it is confusing enough that even some LEOs will argue that it is a detention, despite the court ruling. They did specify that it was not a custodial arrest high enough to trigger other rights though, which is part of the confusion. The case was primarily a jurisdiction case, but the law used for the question was where an officer had authority to make an arrest.

As for the definition of an arrest, we need to look at SCOTUS cases because it is not defined elsewhere. Perhaps the closest they come is in Terry v Ohio, when they decided to allow a stop without calling it an arrest. Until then, if a cop stopped you and you were not free to move on, it was an arrest - whether you get booked or not. That case created the detention, recognizing it as a seizure that came under the Fourth Amendment but was not a full blown arrest. They sort of refer to an arrest to include booking (calling it a "traditional arrest") but don't quite define it fully either.

If youa re not sure, don't worry about it. Neither are the cops, as it continually comes up in court.