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Being Arrested

W.S. 7-2-102 — an arrest on a warrant, for an offense in the officer's presence, or on probable cause

  • A peace officer may arrest a person on a warrant, or on reasonable grounds to believe a warrant for the person's arrest has been issued in Wyoming or somewhere else.
  • Without a warrant, an officer may arrest for any criminal offense being committed in the officer's presence, or on probable cause to believe a felony was committed and the person committed it.
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Who handles this in Wyoming: Wyoming State Bar, attorney referrals; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Wyoming directory.

For a misdemeanor the officer did not see, a warrantless arrest also takes probable cause that, unless arrested right away, the person will not be caught, may hurt themselves or others or damage property, or may destroy or hide evidence of the misdemeanor.

Bail. A person arrested for an offense that cannot be punished by death may be admitted to bail.

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.

  • Miranda v. Arizona
  • County of Riverside v. McLaughlin
  • Riley v. California
Sources for this section (5)
  1. W.S. 7-2-102 — Preconditions for arrests
  2. W.S. 7-10-101 — Right of defendant
  3. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) — Right to remain silent and to counsel during custodial interrogation
  4. County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991) — Probable cause review generally within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest
  5. 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 Wyoming attorney.

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Walked through

This section is the long version of a step in one walkthrough. Each one takes the same law one decision at a time, with both sides of the moment written out.