R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-3 (2026)

Arrest without warrant for misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section RI-LEGwebserver.rilegislature.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person if the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person is committing or has committed a misdemeanor or a petty misdemeanor, and the officer has reasonable ground to believe that person cannot be arrested later or may cause injury to himself or herself or others or loss or damage to property unless immediately arrested.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1963–2024 · leading case: Deaton v. Town of Barrington, 100 F.4th 348 (1st Cir. 2024).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Deaton v. Town of Barrington, 100 F.4th 348 (1st Cir. 2024). · cites it 3× “Deaton alleged civil rights violations pursuant to 12 R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-3 (1956) for unlawful arrest (Count I), civil rights violations for false imprisonment under 12 R.”
State v. Jennings, 366 A.2d 543 (R.I. 1976). · cites it 4× “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-7-3 (c) is unconstitutional as it infringes on his immunity to unlawful searches and seizures.”
State v. Berker, 391 A.2d 107 (R.I. 1978). · cites it 4× “General Laws 1956 (1969 Reenactment) §12-7-3 specifies those situations in which a warrantless arrest for commission of a misdemeanor may be effected: “A peace officer may without a warrant arrest a person for a misdemeanor, whenever: “(a) The officer has reasonable ground to…”
State v. McWeeney, 216 A.2d 357 (R.I. 1966). · cites it 5× “” In his decision the trial justice said: “The Court is completely satisfied that the officers entered the bar and were aware that a misdemeanor had been committed, or had been committed in their presence; and in view of the law, which is Section 12-7-3, they were entitled to…”
State v. Haigh, 315 A.2d 431 (R.I. 1974). · cites it 6× “1956 (1969 Reenactment) §12-7-3 (a) does not satisfy the requirement of probable cause as demanded by the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution and art.”
State v. Dufour, 206 A.2d 82 (R.I. 1965). · cites it 2× “We held that the arrest was unlawful in violation of § 12-7-3, and that the arrest was violative of the fourth amendment to the federal constitution which is applicable to arrests as well as to unreasonable searches and seizures, citing Giordenello v.”
State v. Ceraso, 812 A.2d 829 (R.I. 2002). · cites it 2× “She determined that if the officer had probable cause to arrest, then, because he witnessed a misdemeanor, G.L.1956 § 12-7-3 gave him the jurisdictional authority to make that arrest because it doesn’t “establish territorial limits for peace officers!.”
State v. Costa, 306 A.2d 36 (R.I. 1973). · cites it 3× “We are inclined to agree with the state that, assuming *607 that Officer Jacques, in whose presence defendant had committed a misdemeanor, had made known to Officer Daniel-son the circumstances relative to defendant’s refusal to obey a lawful command (see note 3), Officer…”
State v. Pacheco, 481 A.2d 1009 (R.I. 1984). “1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 12-7-3 and § 12-7-4. Probable cause to arrest depends on whether at the time of arrest the facts and circumstances within the arresting officer’s *1022 knowledge and of which he had reasonable, trustworthy information were sufficient to cause a prudent…”
State v. Gelinas, 417 A.2d 1381 (R.I. 1980). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-7-3, as amended by P.L.1977, ch. 71, § 1.”
Johnson v. Palange, 406 A.2d 360 (R.I. 1979). “That enactment, prior to its amendment in 1973, provided that a police officer might lawfully arrest for a misdemeanor without a warrant when he: “ha[d] reasonable ground to believe that a misdemeanor ha[d] been or [was] being committed in his presence and that the person to be…”
Tucker v. Mammoth Mart, Inc., 446 A.2d 760 (R.I. 1982). · cites it 2× “On appeal, Tucker contends that defendants’ failure to plead the legal justification for his arrest as an affirmative defense waived such defense, and therefore, the trial justice erred in not granting Tucker’s motion for a directed verdict. In addition, Tucker contends that the…”
Show all 26 citing cases →
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-3(a) — 2 cases
Johnson v. Palange, 406 A.2d 360 (R.I. 1979). “That enactment, prior to its amendment in 1973, provided that a police officer might lawfully arrest for a misdemeanor without a warrant when he: “ha[d] reasonable ground to believe that a misdemeanor ha[d] been or [was] being committed in his presence and that the person to be…”
State v. Haigh, 315 A.2d 431 (R.I. 1974). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) §12-7-3 (a) does not satisfy the requirement of probable cause as demanded by the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution and art.”
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-3(c) — 4 cases
State v. Berker, 391 A.2d 107 (R.I. 1978). “General Laws 1956 (1969 Reenactment) §12-7-3 specifies those situations in which a warrantless arrest for commission of a misdemeanor may be effected: “A peace officer may without a warrant arrest a person for a misdemeanor, whenever: “(a) The officer has reasonable ground to…”
State v. Jennings, 366 A.2d 543 (R.I. 1976). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-7-3 (c) is unconstitutional as it infringes on his immunity to unlawful searches and seizures.”
State v. Costa, 306 A.2d 36 (R.I. 1973). “We are inclined to agree with the state that, assuming *607 that Officer Jacques, in whose presence defendant had committed a misdemeanor, had made known to Officer Daniel-son the circumstances relative to defendant’s refusal to obey a lawful command (see note 3), Officer…”
State v. Almeida, 255 A.2d 151 (R.I. 1969).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.