Opinion ID: 2374008
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Illegality of Arrest

Text: We now turn to the core requirement of appellant's case, the illegality of the arrest. Such illegality would be due to not meeting the requirements of a proper arrest by an individual. In citizen's arrest cases, the requisite standard of probable cause is considerably higher than that for arrests made by the police. The standard of probable cause to be met in a citizen's arrest for a felony cannot be met here. Greer neither observed the commission of a felony nor does the record establish that he knew of the commission of a felony. [13] The only potentially criminal act he had knowledge of was that appellant was holding a handgun. Possession of a gun does not, in itself, rise to the level of a felony. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6108. If, in addition to this observation, Greer had learned other facts about the robbery it is possible that an arrest for that felony would have been proper. But we cannot decide that as there is no evidence on the record regarding what information Greer received on his radio. The only other basis for legitimating the citizen's arrest made by Greer is a citizen's arrest for a misdemeanor. It is uncontradicted that Greer did see appellant holding a gun in his hand on a center city Philadelphia street. There is no doubt that this could constitute a misdemeanor, a breach of the peace. What is not clear is whether a citizen's arrest can be made for a misdemeanor. The proper focus here is on Pennsylvania state law regarding citizen's arrests. If the arrest is legal under state standards and not violative of federal constitutional rights the arrest and the search incidental thereto is valid. And in the absence of an applicable federal statute the law of the state where an arrest without warrant takes place determines its validity. United States v. DiRe, 332 U.S. 581, 589, 68 S.Ct. 222 [226] 92 L.Ed. 210 (1948); Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, 34, 83 S.Ct. 1623 [1630] 10 L.Ed.2d 726 (1963). Montgomery v. U.S., 403 F.2d 605, 608 (8th Cir., 1968). There is a difference of opinion within this state on the propriety of a citizen's arrest for a non-felony. The common law rule would allow an arrest such as the one made here. Arrest for a misdemeanor constituting a breach of the peace was also permitted [at common law] when immediate apprehension was necessary to preserve or restore public order. Note, the Law of Citizen's Arrest, 65 Colum.L.Rev. 502, 503 (1965). See also Fisher, Laws of Arrest, 125 (1967), and Carroll v. U.S., 267 U.S. 132 at 157, 45 S.Ct. 280 at 286, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925). This traditional, common law view was repeated, albeit in dicta, in Samuel v. Blackwell, 76 Pa.Super. 540, 547 (1921). Later, a Common Pleas Court held that under this rule a private citizen could make a citizen's arrest for driving under the influence on a public highway if such a breach of the peace occurred in his presence. Commonwealth v. Giles, 14 Adams L.J. 34, 57 D & C2d 13 (1972). However, this line of cases was contradicted, again in dicta, by a 1964 Superior Court opinion, In re Stanley, 204 Pa.Super. 29, 201 A.2d 287 (1964). A constable's authority to . . . arrest on sight for breach of the peace . . . is not conferred upon private citizens . . . Stanley, supra, 204 Pa.Superior at 32, 201 A.2d 289. This statement from Stanley was quoted, yet again in dicta, in Commonwealth v. Gregg, 262 Pa.Super. 364, 366, 396 A.2d 797, 798 (1979). The opinion added that, A lay person, i.e., a person lacking police powers, can only effectuate an arrest when the same citizen personally observes a felony. Id. In neither Stanley nor Gregg was this statement necessary for the disposition of the case. Nor was there any indication that the courts were emphasizing felony as opposed to a misdemeanor. Indeed, to the contrary, the facts in each case related more to the personal observation element than to the felony/misdemeanor distinction. Thus, except for one Common Pleas case on point, and contradictory Superior Court dicta, there is no Pennsylvania law on this issue. We are, therefore, free to address the issue, free from binding precedential encumbrance. [14] In view of the foregoing, we hold that a citizen's arrest can be made for a breach of the peace that is personally observed by the arrestor. Two policy considerations support this. First, it is desirable that citizens be encouraged to stop breaches of the peace. Second, it is unreasonable to put citizens at their peril in deciding, on the spur of the excited moment, which violations they observe are breach of the peace misdemeanors and which are felonies. Such an exercise might well tax the abilities of a learned member of the criminal bar or bench  it is certainly an unreasonable task to impose upon our citizenry. The citizen's arrest of appellant was, therefore, not illegal.