What is the test for arrest without a warrant?

Not all arrests without a warrant are illegal, and not all searches and seizures without a warrant are prohibited. 'But it is nowhere said, that there shall be no arrest without warrant. To have said so would have endangered the safety of society. The felon who is seen to commit murder or robbery, must be arrested on the spot or suffered to escape. ' Wakely v. Hart, 6 Bin. (Pa.) 316. However, an arrest without a warrant has never been lawful except in cases where the public security requires it.

It is universally recognized that a peace officer has the right to arrest without a warrant one whom he finds attempting to commit a felony in his presence, or who is committing or has committed a felony in his presence or within his view. Kurtz v. Moffitt, 115 U.S. 487, 6 Sup.Ct. 148, 29 L.Ed. 458. And this rule applies to any offense punishable by imprisonment in a state prison. And it is a general rule that the officer may arrest without a warrant for a misdemeanor committed [290 F. 679] in his presence. And an officer at common law may arrest without a warrant one whom he has reasonable or probable grounds to suspect of having committed a felony.

Under the federal as well as the state statutes to justify search and seizure or arrest without warrant the officer must have direct knowledge through his hearing, sight, or other sense of the commission of the crime. Elrod v. Moss (C.C.A.) 278 F. 123, 130.