Senate Bill No. 182–Committee on Judiciary

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; removing the authority for a private person to take an arrested person before the nearest magistrate following an arrest; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

   Section 1. NRS 171.1772 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   171.1772  Whenever any person is arrested by a private person, as

 provided in NRS 171.126, for any violation of a county, city or town

 ordinance or state law which is punishable as a misdemeanor, such person

 arrested may be issued a misdemeanor citation by a peace officer in lieu of

 being immediately taken before a magistrate by the peace officer if:

   1.  The person arrested furnishes satisfactory evidence of identity; and

   2.  [A] The peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the

 person arrested will keep a written promise to appear in court.

   Sec. 2.  NRS 171.178 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   171.178  1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 5 and 6, a

 peace officer making an arrest under a warrant issued upon a complaint or

 without a warrant shall take the arrested person without unnecessary delay

 before the magistrate who issued the warrant or the nearest available

 magistrate empowered to commit persons charged with offenses against

 the laws of the State of Nevada.

   2.  A private person making an arrest without a warrant shall [take]

 deliver the arrested person without unnecessary delay to a peace officer.

 Except as otherwise provided in subsections 5 and 6 and NRS 171.1772,

 the peace officer shall take the arrested person without unnecessary

 delay before the nearest available magistrate empowered to commit

 persons charged with offenses against the laws of the State of Nevada . [or

 deliver the arrested person to a peace officer.]

   3.  If an arrested person is not brought before a magistrate within 72

 hours after arrest, excluding nonjudicial days, the magistrate:

   (a) Shall give the prosecuting attorney an opportunity to explain the

 circumstances leading to the delay; and

   (b) May release the arrested person if he determines that the person was

 not brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay.

   4.  When a person arrested without a warrant is brought before a

 magistrate, a complaint must be filed forthwith.

   5.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 178.484 and 178.487, where

 the defendant can be admitted to bail without appearing personally before

 a magistrate, he must be so admitted with the least possible delay, and

 required to appear before a magistrate at the earliest convenient time

 thereafter.

   6.  A peace officer may immediately release from custody without any

 further proceedings any person he arrests without a warrant if the peace

 officer is satisfied that there are insufficient grounds for issuing a criminal

 complaint against the person arrested. Any record of the arrest of a person

 released pursuant to this subsection must also include a record of the


release. A person so released shall be deemed not to have been arrested but

only detained.

   Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.

 

20~~~~~01