Being Arrested
Utah Code 77-7-2 — when an officer may arrest without a warrant
A peace officer may arrest under a warrant, or without one for any public offense committed or attempted in an officer's presence, or with reasonable cause to believe the person committed a felony or a class A misdemeanor.
Who handles this in Utah: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Utah directory.
- Presence includes all the physical senses, and any device that extends or records them.
- An officer may also arrest for any public offense where there is reasonable cause to believe the person may flee, destroy evidence, or injure someone or damage property.
- Failure to disclose identity during a lawful stop is itself a ground for arrest without a warrant.
The person making an arrest tells the person being arrested of the intention, the cause and the authority for it, except where that would endanger someone or let the person escape, or the person is caught in the act or chased right after it.
A person arrested without a warrant is taken without unnecessary delay to a magistrate, and an information stating the charge is made before the magistrate. Breaking that duty is a class B misdemeanor.
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 (6)
- Utah Code 77-7-2 — Arrest by peace officers
- Utah Code 77-7-6 — Manner of making arrest
- Utah Code 77-7-23 — Delivery of an individual arrested without a warrant to a magistrate -- Transfer to a court with jurisdiction -- Transfer of duties -- Violation as misdemeanor
- 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 Utah attorney.