Being Arrested
N.D.C.C. § 29-06-25 — someone arrested without a warrant goes before the nearest magistrate without unnecessary delay
An arrest is taking a person into custody in the manner the law authorizes, to answer for an offense. The person arrested may not be subjected to unnecessary or unreasonable force, or to more restraint than the detention needs.
- Without a warrant, an officer may arrest for a public offense committed or attempted in the officer's presence, for a felony on reasonable cause, and on reasonable cause for impaired driving.
- An officer arresting without a warrant states the officer's authority and the cause of the arrest, unless the person is committing the offense, is being pursued, flees or resists, or telling would imperil the arrest.
- An officer arresting under a warrant says so, and shows the warrant if required.
- After notice of authority and purpose and a refusal of admittance, an officer may break open a door or window of a home to execute an arrest warrant or to arrest for a felony.
Before a magistrate. Someone arrested without a warrant is taken, without unnecessary delay, before the nearest or most accessible magistrate in the county, and a complaint stating the charge is made there.
Several rules about an arrest come from the Supreme Court of the United States rather than from this state's code. It has held that before questioning a person in custody, officers must warn that the person may remain silent, that anything said can be used against them, and that they have a right to a lawyer, appointed if they cannot afford one; that a person arrested without a warrant is entitled to a prompt decision by a judge on whether there was probable cause; and that officers generally need a warrant to search the data on a phone taken from a person they arrested. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (10)
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-01 — Arrest defined
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-10 — Restraint in an arrest is limited
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-15 — Arrest without warrant - Peace officer - Federal agent
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-17 — Officer shall state authority when arresting without warrant
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-14 — Officer may break door
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-25 — Procedure against person arrested without warrant
- N.D.C.C. § 29-06-11 — Warrant must be shown
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) — Right to remain silent and to counsel during custodial interrogation
- County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991) — Probable cause review generally within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest
- Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014) — Police need a warrant to search a phone seized during an arrest
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed North Dakota attorney.