What Are the Key Differences Between Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Burglary?
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What is Considered an Arrest in Wyoming?
According to Wyoming Statutes § 7-2-102, an arrest generally happens when a peace officer or citizen takes a person into custody as the implementation of a warrant or when there is reasonable cause to believe they committed a crime. These legally certified authorities will typically put handcuffs on those they suspect of engaging in misdemeanors or more serious transgressions against fellow residents or the state. Then, the suspects are taken to the police station, where their fingerprints are collected. Suspects are generally questioned more thoroughly at the police station, where their fingerprints will be collected. The Constitution's Fourth Amendment protects the rights of people living in Wyoming. This regulation protects the individual rights of citizens by restricting law enforcement officers from performing searches without a legal warrant.
According to this law, police in Wyoming need a warrant or a good reason to think someone is involved in a crime or has already committed one before they can arrest them. This means that officers cannot stop and search individuals randomly while searching for illegal items. If they want to arrest someone in Wyoming, they generally have to have proof of:
- Serious crimes like assault, stealing, dealing drugs, assaulting someone sexually, setting fires on purpose, hurting animals, threatening people for money, killing someone, or taking someone
- Breaking traffic laws like using fake license plates, running away from officers, or reckless driving.
- Engaging in disruptive behavior in public spaces due to factors like public intoxication
- Pretending to be an officer, trying to bribe judges or police, threatening people who might tell the truth, or ignoring a court's order
In Wyoming, police may arrest someone if they have enough evidence that he did a crime. If they have a warrant, they can arrest the person it is for. There are different phases to arrests in Wyoming as defined by state law. These typically include:
- Custody and Control: this involves being put under arrest and in handcuffs by law enforcement officials. Police officers will generally let the suspect know their Miranda Rights as they do the arrest. These rights include the suspect's entitlement to an attorney and opting to remain silent to avert self-incrimination.
- Restraint and Transport: following the arrest, the suspect is taken to the station in a police vehicle.
- Booking Process: at the station, which serves as a detention facility, the arresting officer will generally record the suspect's fingerprints and personal details. During this process, known as "booking", the arrested individual is also photographed. He or she remains in custody until being released on bail. Moreover, if the suspect perpetrated a severe felony, the presiding judge may opt not to set bail. In such cases, the suspect then remains in custody until the day of arraignment.
What is Unlawful Arrest in Wyoming?
In the Cowboy State, an unlawful arrest refers to the situation where a police officer with no valid reason to believe that an individual participated in an illegal activity or signed a warrant insists on apprehending them. Wyoming law says law enforcement officials must meet these legal stipulations proving that a citizen has done or participated in a crime before apprehending him or her. Elements that constitute an unlawful arrest in Wyoming typically include:
- Mistaken Identity: when police officers erroneously arrest an individual that closely resembles the suspect instead of the suspect.
- Procedural Violations: this happens when arresting officers neglect to inform the individuals they are arresting about their Miranda Rights. Law enforcement officials may also deny suspects any legal representation when questioning them. These factors affect the legal validity of the arrest.
- Police Bias: this happens when law enforcement officials violate the civil rights of people based on factors like ethnic background or religious affiliation. They may do this by using excessive force when apprehending an unresisting suspect, thereby causing serious bodily harm. Arresting officers may also plant evidence against the suspect in his car, property, or person when patting them down. Lastly, police officers may detain the suspect for longer than needed to finish the investigation process.
- Arrests made without Probable Cause: this happens when law enforcement officials apprehend people without having a valid reason for this. Arrests without a good reason happen when police take someone into custody without proof of his or her criminality. For example, if an officer arrests someone just because they have a gut feeling but no real evidence, that qualifies as an improper arrest.
When the case reaches the court, the judge typically looks into what happened to see if the individual's rights were not respected during the arrest. If the person was not apprised of his Miranda Rights, the judge might decide not to allow any statements they made in the absence of a lawyer.
Are Arrest Records Public in Wyoming?
The Wyoming Public Records Act, as outlined in Wyo. Stat. §16-4- 201-202, defines public records as all documents that are received or manufactured by state and federal governments and contain details of public business activities. In the Cowboy State, arrest records may be accessed by random citizens. The Wyoming Public Records Act generally requires law enforcement agencies in its jurisdiction to share these records with persons who express an interest in them. However, the Wyoming Public Records Act also bans the sharing of specific arrest records.
These typically include the arrest records of juveniles, intelligence information, investigatory reports, affidavits, medical information belonging to arrested persons, warrant applications, and arrest records which- if accessed by the public- could endanger the arrested individuals' lives. Publicly available information in Wyoming's arrest records typically includes:
- The arrested person's full name, physical address, and date of birth.
- The arresting officer's identity
- The arrested individual's height, weight, age, ethnicity, race, hair, and eye color
- The charges
- The scheduled release
- The sentence date and length
- The arrested person's mugshot
What are the Types of Arrest Records in Wyoming?
Two kinds of records maintained by legal agencies in the Cowboy State are arrest records and criminal records. Arrest records are generated before criminal proceedings while criminal records are prepared after them. In Wyoming, criminal records typically contain more data than arrest records. Criminal records in the Cowboy State contain all these details and his offenses' classifications and data related to his previous arrests, when available.
People may look up jail records from different county jails' databases throughout Wyoming. To find arrest records, a person may visit or call the sheriff’s offices and police departments. Moreover, few police departments in the Cowboy State share details in arrest records online. Interested parties may also check criminal records at places like the court system and correctional establishments, which store these records.
Where are Arrest Records Kept in Wyoming?
In Wyoming, different platforms maintain arrest records at state, local, and federal levels.
- At the Local Level: sheriff's offices across the Cowboy State hold arrest records of individuals detained within the state. City police departments also keep such important legal documents
- At the State Level: establishments like Wyoming's State Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Wyoming Department of Corrections maintain arrest records at the State level.
- At the Federal Level: federal establishments like the FBI preserve the arrest records of citizens tried for committing federal crimes in Wyoming.
How To Find Public Arrest Records in Wyoming?
There are different ways to public arrest records in Wyoming. These may include offline and online methods. Offline methods typically are:
- Requesting Arrest Records in Person: To get arrest records in Wyoming, the interested party could go in person to ask for them from the sheriff's offices. The Cowboy State's police departments also provide this service. Interested individuals may also visit places like the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC). Most of Wyoming's police departments only issue arrest records in person. Moreover, some like the Natrona County Sheriff's office may convey details in arrest records by phone.
How Long Do Arrests Stay on the Record in Wyoming?
In the Cowboy State, the statute Wyoming Statute 6-1-104 clarifies that if an individual participates in serious felonies and is repeatedly incarcerated for them, those records should remain accessible to the public indefinitely. Moreover, Wyoming state statutes 7-13-1501 indicate that persons incarcerated for non-violent felony convictions may request to have their records restricted from public viewing after 10 years.
How To Seal or Expunge an Arrest Record in Wyoming?
Wyoming law (specifically WY Stat § 7-13-1401-1501) elaborates on procedures used to seal or expunge arrest records within the state. Based on this regulation, arrest records may be sealed or expunged in specific circumstances:
- Expungement: this generally refers to the act of clearing an arrest or criminal record from state background checks and court databases. While law enforcement personnel can still see these expunged records, regular people cannot access them. To be eligible for expungement of one's records, the individual in question must finish their sentence first. The individual will then:
- File a petition at the court that heard his case for expungement.
- Inform the victims of the crime, investigation division, and prosecuting attorney of the filing.
- Wait through the expungement hearing where the court hears testimonies from objecting parties and the petitioner.
- If the court agrees to the expungement, the judge will sign an "Order of Expungement" and send a copy to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Department. The Department then removes all deposition, conviction, and arrest documents from public databases.
- Sealing: this generally refers to the act of limiting public access to an arrest record. The court still retains the arrest record but ensures that only individuals with a court order can see it. To seal a criminal record:
- The affected party first files a petition at the court that heard his case to restrict public access to his records, and adds an affidavit for good cause.
- Other parties like the victims of the crime, the investigating division, and the prosecuting attorney will be apprised of this development.
- If none of the other served parties object to this petition over the next 30 days, the court will review it and grant it.
