Nonviolent misdemeanors; require citations in lieu of arrest with limited exceptions.

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To: Judiciary, Division B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Hickman, Simmons (12th)

SENATE BILL NO. 2803

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FROM ARRESTING A 1
PERSON WHEN THE OFFICER HAS PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT A 2
PERSON HAS COMMITTED A MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE; TO REQUIRE THE 3
ISSUANCE OF A CITATION IN LIEU OF ARREST; TO PROVIDE FOR AN ARREST 4
FOR VIOLENT MISDEMEANORS AND IN CERTAIN LIMITED SITUATIONS; TO 5
AMEND SECTIONS 99-3-3 AND 99-3-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 6
CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. As used in this act, the following terms have the 9
meaning ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires 10
otherwise: 11
(a) "Misdemeanor" means a crime punishable by fine, 12
community service, probation or a maximum term of one (1) year in 13
the county or municipal jail. The term does not include violent 14
misdemeanor. 15
(b) "Violent misdemeanor" means any misdemeanor: 16
(i) Involving the use, attempted use, or 17
threatened use of physical force against another person; 18
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(ii) Involving domestic violence or abuse, dating 19
violence, stalking, or violation of a domestic violence protection 20
order; 21
(iii) Involving a deadly weapon; or 22
(iv) Designated by law as violent. 23
(2) (a) No law enforcement officer shall arrest a person 24
when the officer has probable cause to believe that a person has 25
committed a misdemeanor offense unless the arrest is authorized 26
under subsection (3) of this section. 27
(b) In lieu of an arrest, a law enforcement officer 28
shall issue a citation to the person and shall release the person 29
at the scene upon issuance of the citation. The citation shall 30
require the person’s written or electronic attestation to appear 31
in court. 32
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit 33
an officer’s authority to conduct a lawful investigation, 34
including a temporary detention as permitted by law. 35
(3) A law enforcement officer may make an arrest if: 36
(a) The offense is a violent misdemeanor; 37
(b) The person to be issued a citation: 38
(i) Refuses to provide satisfactory 39
identification; or 40
(ii) Provides false identifying information; 41
(c) The person has an outstanding arrest warrant; 42
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(d) The person is on pretrial release, probation, 43
parole, or other supervised release for a felony offense, and the 44
misdemeanor would be a violation of such release; 45
(e) The person is under the influence of alcohol or 46
drugs to such a degree that the person poses a danger to 47
themselves or others; or 48
(f) Custodial arrest is expressly required by another 49
provision of state or federal law. 50
(4) A person who fails to appear as required by a citation 51
issued under this section may be subject to a warrant for arrest 52
or other penalties as provided by law. 53
(5) This shall supersede any local ordinance or policy that 54
authorizes or requires arrests for misdemeanors or is otherwise 55
inconsistent with the provisions of this section. 56
SECTION 2. Section 99-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 57
amended as follows: 58
99-3-3. Arrests for criminal offenses, and to prevent a 59
breach of the peace, or the commission of a crime, may be made at 60
any time or place except as provided in Section 1 of this act. 61
SECTION 3. Section 99-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 62
amended as follows: 63
99-3-7. (1) An officer, except as provided in Section 1 of 64
this act, or a private person may arrest any person without 65
warrant, for an indictable offense committed, or a breach of the 66
peace threatened or attempted in his presence; or when a person 67
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has committed a felony, though not in his presence; or when a 68
felony has been committed, and he has reasonable ground to suspect 69
and believe the person proposed to be arrested to have committed 70
it; or on a charge, made upon reasonable cause, of the commission 71
of a felony by the party proposed to be arrested. And in all 72
cases of arrests without warrant, the person making such arrest 73
must inform the accused of the object and cause of the arrest, 74
except when he is in the actual commission of the offense, or is 75
arrested on pursuit. 76
(2) Any law enforcement officer may arrest any person on a 77
misdemeanor charge without having a warrant in his possession when 78
a warrant is in fact outstanding for that person's arrest and the 79
officer has knowledge through official channels that the warrant 80
is outstanding for that person's arrest. In all such cases, the 81
officer making the arrest must inform such person at the time of 82
the arrest the object and cause therefor. If the person arrested 83
so requests, the warrant shall be shown to him as soon as 84
practicable. 85
(3) (a) Any law enforcement officer shall arrest a person 86
with or without a warrant when he has probable cause to believe 87
that the person has, within twenty-four (24) hours of such arrest, 88
knowingly committed a misdemeanor or felony that is an act of 89
domestic violence or knowingly violated provisions of a criminal 90
domestic violence or sexual assault protection order issued 91
pursuant to Section 97-3-7(11), 97-3-65(6) or 97-3-101(5) or an ex 92
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parte protective order, protective order after hearing or 93
court-approved consent agreement entered by a chancery, circuit, 94
county, justice or municipal court pursuant to the Protection from 95
Domestic Abuse Law, Sections 93-21-1 through 93-21-29, Mississippi 96
Code of 1972, or a restraining order entered by a foreign court of 97
competent jurisdiction to protect an applicant from domestic 98
violence. 99
(b) If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to 100
believe that two (2) or more persons committed an act of domestic 101
violence as defined herein, or if two (2) or more persons make 102
complaints of domestic violence to the officer, the officer shall 103
attempt to determine who was the principal aggressor. The term 104
principal aggressor is defined as the party who poses the most 105
serious ongoing threat, or who is the most significant, rather 106
than the first, aggressor. The officer shall presume that arrest 107
is not the appropriate response for the person or persons who were 108
not the principal aggressor. If the officer affirmatively finds 109
more than one (1) principal aggressor was involved, the officer 110
shall document those findings. 111
(c) To determine which party was the principal 112
aggressor, the officer shall consider the following factors, 113
although such consideration is not limited to these factors: 114
(i) Evidence from the persons involved in the 115
domestic abuse; 116
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(ii) The history of domestic abuse between the 117
parties, the likelihood of future injury to each person, and the 118
intent of the law to protect victims of domestic violence from 119
continuing abuse; 120
(iii) Whether one (1) of the persons acted in 121
self-defense; and 122
(iv) Evidence from witnesses of the domestic 123
violence. 124
(d) A law enforcement officer shall not base the 125
decision of whether to arrest on the consent or request of the 126
victim. 127
(e) A law enforcement officer's determination regarding 128
the existence of probable cause or the lack of probable cause 129
shall not adversely affect the right of any party to independently 130
seek appropriate remedies. 131
(4) (a) Any person authorized by a court of law to 132
supervise or monitor a convicted offender who is under an 133
intensive supervision program may arrest the offender when the 134
offender is in violation of the terms or conditions of the 135
intensive supervision program, without having a warrant, provided 136
that the person making the arrest has been trained at the Law 137
Enforcement Officers Training Academy established under Section 138
45-5-1 et seq., or at a course approved by the Board on Law 139
Enforcement Officer Standards and Training. 140
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(b) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 141
"intensive supervision program" means an intensive supervision 142
program of the Department of Corrections as described in Section 143
47-5-1001 et seq., or any similar program authorized by a court 144
for offenders who are not under jurisdiction of the Department of 145
Corrections. 146
(5) As used in subsection (3) of this section, the phrase 147
"misdemeanor or felony that is an act of domestic violence" shall 148
mean one or more of the following acts between current or former 149
spouses or a child of current or former spouses, persons living as 150
spouses or who formerly lived as spouses or a child of persons 151
living as spouses or who formerly lived as spouses, a parent, 152
grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to 153
the defendant, persons who have a current or former dating 154
relationship, or persons who have a biological or legally adopted 155
child together: 156
(a) Simple or aggravated domestic violence within the 157
meaning of Section 97-3-7; 158
(b) Disturbing the family or public peace within the 159
meaning of Section 97-35-9, 97-35-11, 97-35-13 or 97-35-15; or 160
(c) Stalking within the meaning of Section 97-3-107. 161
(6) Any arrest made pursuant to subsection (3) of this 162
section shall be designated as domestic assault or domestic 163
violence on both the arrest docket and the incident report. Any 164
officer investigating a complaint of a misdemeanor or felony that 165
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ST: Nonviolent misdemeanors; require citations
in lieu of arrest with limited exceptions.
is a crime of domestic violence who finds probable cause that such 166
an offense has occurred within the past twenty-four (24) hours 167
shall file an affidavit on behalf of the victim(s) of the crime, 168
regardless of whether an arrest is made within that time period. 169
If the crime is reported or investigated outside of that 170
twenty-four-hour period, the officer may file the affidavit on 171
behalf of the victim. In the event the officer does not file an 172
affidavit on behalf of the victim, the officer shall instruct the 173
victim of the procedure for filing on his or her own behalf. 174
(7) A law enforcement officer shall not be held liable in 175
any civil action for an arrest based on probable cause and in good 176
faith pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, or failure, in 177
good faith, to make an arrest pursuant to subsection (3) of this 178
section. 179
(8) The authority for the State Chief Deputy Fire Marshal 180
and deputy state fire marshals to make arrests shall be governed 181
by the provisions of Section 45-11-1. 182
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 183
and after July 1, 2026. 184