Utah Code » Title 77, Chapter 7 — Arrest, by Whom, and How Made
Utah Code

Utah Code § 77-7-2 (2026)

Arrest by peace officers

✓ current as of May 2026
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A peace officer may make an arrest under authority of a warrant or may, without warrant, arrest a person:

for any public offense committed or attempted in the presence of any peace officer; and
as used in this Subsection (1), "presence" includes all of the physical senses or any device that enhances the acuity, sensitivity, or range of any physical sense, or records the observations of any of the physical senses;
when the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe a felony or a class A misdemeanor has been committed and has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested has committed it;
when the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense, and there is reasonable cause for believing the person may:
flee or conceal himself to avoid arrest;
destroy or conceal evidence of the commission of the offense; or
injure another person or damage property belonging to another person;
when the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe the person has committed the offense of failure to disclose identity under Section 76-8-301.5; or
when the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person is an alien:
subject to a civil removal order issued by an immigration judge;
regarding whom a civil detainer warrant has been issued by the federal Department of Homeland Security; or
who has been charged or convicted in another state with one or more aggravated felonies as defined by 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1101(a)(43).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 38 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case: State v. Harker, 2010 UT 56 (Utah 2010).
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State v. Harker, 2010 UT 56 (Utah 2010). · cites it 36× “Harker's arrest was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment and the evidence obtained during that search need not be exelud-ed.”
State v. Trane, 2002 UT 97 (Utah 2002). · cites it 12× “¶ 29 In harmony with this case law regarding probable cause for an officer to arrest an individual, the Utah Code sets forth circumstances under which an officer can effectuate an arrest: A peace officer may make an arrest under authority of a warrant or may, without warrant,…”
State v. Harmon, 910 P.2d 1196 (Utah 1995). · cites it 12× “" Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2 (emphasis added).”
United States v. Planells-Guerra, 509 F. Supp. 2d 1000 (D. Utah 2007). · cites it 26× “Accordingly, the good-faith exception bars the suppression of the evidence in this case. CONCLUSION For all these reasons, the court DENIES Mr.”
State v. Anderson, 910 P.2d 1229 (Utah 1996). · cites it 4× “Under section 77-7-2(2) of the Utah Code, a police officer may make a warrantless arrest "when he has reasonable cause to believe a felony has been committed and has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested has committed it.”
State v. Griego, 933 P.2d 1003 (Utah Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 12× “See Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2 (3)(c) (1995) (providing authority for warrantless arrest if officer has probable cause to believe suspect committed public offense and may "injure another person").”
State v. Leonard, 825 P.2d 664 (Utah Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 4× “The Arrest As to the legality of the arrest, Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2 (1990) provides authority for peace officers to make an arrest with or without a warrant.”
Mglej v. Garfield Cnty., 974 F.3d 1151 (10th Cir. 2020). “The third statute, Utah Code § 77-7-2(4), provides that “[a] peace officer may make an arrest under authority of a warrant or may, without warrant, arrest a person .”
State v. Richards, 779 P.2d 689 (Utah Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 8× “Although the evidence is controverted as to whether or not Zina told Bankhead everything was alright, both Bankhead and Plotnik testified that they did not hear her make this statement.”
Madsen v. Brown, 701 P.2d 1086 (Utah 1985). · cites it 4× “[1] Section 77-7-2 (repealed, 1980 Utah Laws, ch.”
Orem City v. Bovo, 2003 UT App 286 (Utah Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 4× “3 Defendant asserts that Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2 (1999) requires an offense to be committed in the officer's presence for an arrest to be made.”
State v. Chapman, 841 P.2d 725 (Utah Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 4× “Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2 (1990) provides that officers can make an arrest with or without a warrant.”
Show all 38 citing cases →
— Utah Code § 77-7-2(1) — 3 cases
State v. Harker, 2010 UT 56 (Utah 2010). “Harker's arrest was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment and the evidence obtained during that search need not be exelud-ed.”
State v. Trane, 2002 UT 97 (Utah 2002). “¶ 29 In harmony with this case law regarding probable cause for an officer to arrest an individual, the Utah Code sets forth circumstances under which an officer can effectuate an arrest: A peace officer may make an arrest under authority of a warrant or may, without warrant,…”
State v. Talbot, 2010 UT App 352 (Utah Ct. App. 2010).
— Utah Code § 77-7-2(2) — 3 cases
State v. Anderson, 910 P.2d 1229 (Utah 1996). “Under section 77-7-2(2) of the Utah Code, a police officer may make a warrantless arrest "when he has reasonable cause to believe a felony has been committed and has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested has committed it.”
State v. Cole, 674 P.2d 119 (Utah 1983).
Hall v. Brown (D. Utah 2022).
— Utah Code § 77-7-2(4) — 1 case
Mglej v. Garfield Cnty., 974 F.3d 1151 (10th Cir. 2020). “The third statute, Utah Code § 77-7-2(4), provides that “[a] peace officer may make an arrest under authority of a warrant or may, without warrant, arrest a person .”
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.