Cite and Release in California – How Does It Work?

In California, cite and release is the practice of police issuing you a citation for suspected unlawful conduct, but not bringing you to jail for a formal booking. Instead, you are released on the condition that you make a signed promise show up to court, later on. The process is used mainly for low-level offenses, such as misdemeanors or infractions.

Cite and release has also become more common since the COVID-19 pandemic, as crowded jail facilities have been hotbeds for transmission of the virus.

 

How does cite and release work in California?

Cite and release is a way of arresting you and ensuring that you appear in court, without holding you in county jail for a minor offense. If you do not demand to be taken before a judge, a police officer will issue you a citation, rather than making a formal arrest. The citation informs you when and where your court date will be. You can then sign the citation, promising to appear in court. You can then go on your way, rather than be brought to jail until your arraignment.¹

There are several situations where police officers have the discretion to not release you. Many of them have to do with public safety. They include:

• you were so intoxicated that you posed a danger to yourself or to others,
• you required medical care or were unable to care for your own safety,
• you refused to sign the citation,
• there are outstanding warrants for your arrest,
• you could not provide adequate identification,
• your release could jeopardize the prosecution of the offense by, for example, allowing you to destroy evidence,
• you were reasonably likely to resume the unlawful activity or put other people or property at risk, and
• there was a reasonable likelihood that you would not appear in court at the time specified in the citation.²

If the officer chooses not to release you for one of these reasons, they have to explain why the nonrelease decision was made.³

Law enforcement agencies also have discretion over how to handle the booking process for a cite and release arrest. They can:

• book you at the scene,
• bring you to the police department for booking, and then release you, or
• indicate on the citation that you have to come to the department to be booked or fingerprinted before your court date.⁴

If you are not booked before release, then you will have to bring proof of booking and fingerprinting to your court date.⁵

After a cite and release, the court date will be at least 10 days after the arrest or citation.⁶ During this time, no arrest warrant or bench warrant can be issued for you for the offense cited. A warrant can only be issued if you:

• violated your written promise to appear,
• failed to deposit bail,
• did not appear for arraignment, trial, or sentencing, or
• failed to comply with the terms of sentencing.⁷

Cite and release is a longstanding practice in the criminal justice system. It is used to reduce crowding in jails by keeping you out of jail for low-level cases. It also saves court resources by allowing for more time for you to be brought in front of a judge. They are especially common for traffic violations. However, California law on the issue has changed in recent years to abolish money bail in many circumstances. These attempts at bail reform required police to cite and release in more situations.

What happens at the court date?

At the court date, the judge or magistrate will determine what to do with you while the case proceeds. They can either:

• deny bail,
• set bail, or
• release you on your own recognizance (OR).

Many cases that began with a cite and release, rather than with an arrest and an arraignment, use OR as the pretrial release. You will be released on the written promise to continue to appear at required court dates.

However, the court can also set bail. This is especially common if a low-level offense led to your cite and release, but you have a criminal record. The amount of bail will depend on the county’s bail schedule. You will have to post bail in order to be released before trial. A bail bond may be required if you do not have the resources to post bail.

What is a citation?

The citation is a written notice of a violation of the law. The police officer issues it to you once you have signed it. It includes the information surrounding the allegedly unlawful activity. It also includes information about your court appearance.

In California, citations include the following:

• the date, time, and location of the alleged violation,
• your name and personal information or, if you do not have identification, your thumbprint,
• the statute violated and a description of the offense, including whether it was a misdemeanor or an infraction,
• whether the violation can be corrected or not,
• the arresting officer’s name,
• information about your court date, and
• a signed statement by you that you will appear in court.

Police officers and county sheriffs use duplicate citations. One copy is given to you. The duplicate citation is filed with the district attorney, or with the magistrate if:

• the alleged offense is an infraction, or
• the district attorney has instructed the peace officer to do so.⁸

If you refuse to sign the citation, you can be arrested and held in jail.

If you have received a citation for a crime or infraction, you should consider calling a criminal defense attorney.

What offenses are subject to cite and release?

Cite and release is only an option for minor offenses, including misdemeanor offenses and infractions like:

• assault (Penal Code 240 PC),
• disorderly conduct (Penal Code 647 PC),
• a first-offense of driving under the influence (DUI) without causing an injury (Vehicle Code 23152 VC),
• petty theft (Penal Code 484 PC), and
• speeding (Vehicle Code 22350 VC).

Some misdemeanor violations are not eligible for cite and release. These include the following crimes of domestic violence:

• domestic battery (Penal Code 243(e)(1) PC),
• domestic violence causing injury (Penal Code 273.5 PC),
• certain violations of a protective order (Penal Code 273.6 PC), and
• stalking (Penal Code 646.9 PC).⁹

Cite and release is not an option for wobblers, felony offenses, or violent felonies.¹⁰

Additional reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• An Alternative to the Bail System: Penal Code Section 853.6 – Hastings Law Journal.
• Pretrial Release under California Penal Code Section 853.6: An Examination of Citation Release – California Law Review.
• Can Racial Diversity Attenuate Racial Discrimination in Service Interactions? Evidence from Cite-and-Release Decisions within Police Departments – Organization Science.
• Citation in Lieu of Arrest: A Means of Efficiency – Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.
• Pretrial Release in the Age of COVID-19: What Did We Learn? – Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal. 

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