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TX3: Officer's conclusions insufficient in arrest warrant affidavit; omission of date fatal, too

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Arrest warrant’s affidavit that was merely the conclusions of the officer and did not offer facts to the magistrate was insufficient under the Fourth Amendment. The omission of the date anything happened was fatal, too. State v. Jordan, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 4589 (Tex. App.–Austin June 17, 2010).* Defendant ran into the back of an off duty officer in uniform outside the officer’s jurisdiction. The officer ordered defendant from his vehicle, then back into it to wait for the local police, and took his keys. The officer suspected defendant was DUI, also having six priors. The arrest was invalid as a citizen’s arrest, and the DUI is set aside. Commonwealth v. Limone, 2010 Mass. App. LEXIS 819 (June 22, 2010).*

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 24, 2010 (boomark / email).