Wyo. Stat. » Wyo. Stat. / Title 07 - Criminal Procedure / Chapter 2 - PEACE OFFICERS / Article
Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 7-2-103 (2026)

Issuance of citations.

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WY-LEGwyoleg.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar 
(a) A citation may issue as a charging document for any
misdemeanor which the issuing officer has probable cause to
believe was committed by the person to whom the citation was
issued.

     (b) A person may be released if, after investigation, it
appears that the person:

          (i)    Does not present a danger to himself or others;

          (ii)    Will not injure or destroy the property of
others;

          (iii)    Will appear for future court proceedings; and

          (iv) Is willing to accept the citation, thereby
promising to appear in court at the time and on the date
specified in the citation.

     (c) The person may be released from custody upon the
directive of:

          (i)    The arresting officer;

          (ii) The district attorney or, for cases being
prosecuted in municipal court, the city attorney;

          (iii) Another peace officer designated by the sheriff
or, for cases being prosecuted in municipal court, the chief of
police.

     (d) The citation for a person in custody may be issued by
the arresting officer or by another peace officer designated by:

          (i) The district attorney or the city attorney for
cases being prosecuted in municipal court; or

          (ii) The sheriff or the chief of police for cases
being prosecuted in municipal court.
     (e) For purposes of this section, "issuing officer" means
a peace officer, or a special municipal officer acting in
accordance with the terms of his appointment under W.S.
15-1-103(a)(l). A "special municipal officer" means a municipal
employee whose duties include the areas of animal control,
parking or municipal code enforcement.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20 cases, 1979–2010 · leading case: Brown v. Avery, 850 P.2d 612 (Wyo. 1993).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Brown v. Avery, 850 P.2d 612 (Wyo. 1993). · cites it 4× “) Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103 (1987) reads, in part: (a) A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant and detain that person until a legal warrant can be obtained when: (i) Any criminal offense is being committed in his presence by the person to be arrested; (ii) He has…”
DeHerrera v. State, 589 P.2d 845 (Wyo. 1979). · cites it 8× “[now § 7-2-103, W.S. 1977]. [2] We discussed in Rodarte what probable cause is in the criminal constitutional context and, with approval, quoted Williams v.”
Mickelson v. State, 906 P.2d 1020 (Wyo. 1995). · cites it 4× “" Section 7-2-103(a), W.S.1977, 1985 Cum. Supp.”
Goettl v. State, 842 P.2d 549 (Wyo. 1992). · cites it 4× “The authority for warrantless arrests in Wyoming is found in Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103 (1987), which provides, in pertinent part: (a) A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant and detain that person until, a legal warrant can be obtained when: (i) Any criminal offense is…”
Ostrowski v. State, 665 P.2d 471 (Wyo. 1983). · cites it 2× “Section 7-2-103, W.S.1977, provides statutory authority *476 for a peace officer to arrest a suspected felon without a warrant so long as he does so with probable cause to believe a felony has been committed and the suspect committed it.”
Neilson v. State, 599 P.2d 1326 (Wyo. 1979). · cites it 2× “[5] The constitutional test of probable cause is essentially stated in § 7-2-103, W.S. 1977, which authorizes warrantless arrests in certain circumstances.”
Lobatos v. State, 875 P.2d 716 (Wyo. 1994). · cites it 2× “Seizure of Person Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103(a)(ii) (1987) allows a peace officer to arrest without warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed and that the person to be arrested committed it.”
Keehn v. Town of Torrington, 834 P.2d 112 (Wyo. 1992). · cites it 2× “1989); Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103 (June 1987). A peace officer who executes a warrantless arrest without probable cause can be held liable for the constitutional tort of false arrest.”
Jandro v. State, 781 P.2d 512 (Wyo. 1989). · cites it 2× “A warrantless arrest is justified by § 7-2-103, W.S. 1977 (Cum.Supp. 1986), which provides, in that part here pertinent: "(a) A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant and detain him until a legal warrant can be obtained when: * * * * * * "(ii) He has reasonable…”
Simmons v. State, 712 P.2d 887 (Wyo. 1986). · cites it 4× “" Section 7-2-103(a), W.S. 1977, 1985 Cum. Supp.”
Dods v. State, 2010 WY 133 (Wyo. 2010). · cites it 2× “[1] I write separately, however, to point out a couple of conceptual difficulties.”
State v. Stahl, 838 P.2d 1193 (Wyo. 1992). · cites it 7× “Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103 (1987). Like § 31-5-1204, § 7-2-103 contains no express jurisdictional limitation on the war-rantless arrest authority of a peace officer.”
Show all 20 citing cases →
— Wyo. Stat. § 7-2-103(a) — 4 cases
Mickelson v. State, 906 P.2d 1020 (Wyo. 1995). “" Section 7-2-103(a), W.S.1977, 1985 Cum. Supp.”
Simmons v. State, 712 P.2d 887 (Wyo. 1986). “" Section 7-2-103(a), W.S. 1977, 1985 Cum. Supp.”
Norman v. State, 747 P.2d 520 (Wyo. 1987).
Sandborn v. State, 735 P.2d 435 (Wyo. 1987).
— Wyo. Stat. § 7-2-103(a)(ii) — 3 cases
Lobatos v. State, 875 P.2d 716 (Wyo. 1994). “Seizure of Person Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103(a)(ii) (1987) allows a peace officer to arrest without warrant when the officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed and that the person to be arrested committed it.”
DeHerrera v. State, 589 P.2d 845 (Wyo. 1979). “[now § 7-2-103, W.S. 1977]. [2] We discussed in Rodarte what probable cause is in the criminal constitutional context and, with approval, quoted Williams v.”
Goettl v. State, 842 P.2d 549 (Wyo. 1992). “The authority for warrantless arrests in Wyoming is found in Wyo.Stat. § 7-2-103 (1987), which provides, in pertinent part: (a) A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant and detain that person until, a legal warrant can be obtained when: (i) Any criminal offense is…”
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.