Out of jurisdiction?

[jeffball610]

I live in Colorado and yesterday my girlfriend got pulled over doing 80mph in a 65mph zone. Yes, she was speeding, but the Sheriff's deputy that pulled us over was outside of the county. We passed the county line less than a mile back, and the deputy miss wrote the ticket. We were clearly outside of the county as there is a distinct landmark distinguishing the two counties. My girlfriend is willing to pay the fine, but can they serve a ticket outside of their own county? Yes she was speeding in "his" county, but can he follow us outside of his jurisdiction to serve a speeding ticket? This doesn't seem right to me.

 

[patstew]

Yes she was speeding in "his" county, but can he follow us outside of his jurisdiction to serve a speeding ticket? This doesn't seem right to me.

Of course it's right. If someone robs and bank and escapes over the county line, does the sherriff turn back? The law was violated. The sherriff did his duty.

 

[Zigner]

That's not how it worked in Porky's!

 

[jeffball610]

I'm disputing the fact that she was speeding and it was in his jurisdiction, but can he legally issue a ticket in another county? The bank robbing thing was a good example. But doesn't the arresting Deputy need to bring the robber back to his county to file charges? I would be ok with this if he called in the State Patrol and they issued the ticket. Can a city police officer follow you outside the city limits to issue you a simple citation? I would assume that he has the authority to detain you, but to charge you with a "crime" outside of their authorized zone I don't believe is allowed. I'll do some more research and see if this is right or not.

 

[Zigner]

Ok, short answer. Yes, the officer can cite you outside of his town limits for an infraction you committed inside his town limits.
In fact, he may well be able to cite you for infractions you commit in other jurisdictions.

 

[The Occultist]

Counties have agreements with each other to let officers from other counties serve justice as needed. Stop basing your legal facts on episodes of Dukes of Hazzard

 

[Orcons]

I'm disputing the fact that she was speeding and it was in his jurisdiction, but can he legally issue a ticket in another county? The bank robbing thing was a good example. But doesn't the arresting Deputy need to bring the robber back to his county to file charges? I would be ok with this if he called in the State Patrol and they issued the ticket. Can a city police officer follow you outside the city limits to issue you a simple citation? I would assume that he has the authority to detain you, but to charge you with a "crime" outside of their authorized zone I don't believe is allowed. I'll do some more research and see if this is right or not.

This has come up before on this board and the answers are always pretty much the same. The fact of the matter is that it depends on the state. You need to research the law in CO and unless someone here is telling you how things work in CO you will be better off doing your own research. I don't know how it works in your state, in my state they could not in fact do what they did to your girlfriend but that doesn't help you.

BTW, there also is a big difference between the bank robbing example and a traffic citation. In my state they can not follow you into another jurisdiction for a simple traffic citation but they could for an arrestable offense. Again, you can't use that so figure out what happens in CO.

 

[racer72]

In my state they can not follow you into another jurisdiction for a simple traffic citation but they could for an arrestable offense.

Would you be willing to put your money where your mouth is and provide a specific statute? FYI, being pulled over for a traffic ticket is considered an arrest.

 

[colourfastt]

Would you be willing to put your money where your mouth is and provide a specific statute? FYI, being pulled over for a traffic ticket is considered an arrest.

As I found out in Delaware years ago when going through a background check: a traffic citation is in fact a non-custodial arrest.