Can a Texas officer force entry into a home to serve a parole revocation (blue) warrant?

Plain-English summary

A parole revocation warrant, known in Texas practice as a "blue warrant" or "parole violation warrant," is issued when the state wants to return a parolee to custody. Senator Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence, asked the Attorney General whether a peace officer is prohibited from forcing entry into a residence to enforce one of these warrants. The catch she identified is that the Government Code provisions creating parole revocation warrants do not say whether force may be used to execute them.

The AG concluded there is no prohibition. Chapter 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure sets the general rules for arrests under warrant, and article 15.24, titled "What force may be used," provides that in making an arrest "all reasonable means are permitted to be used to effect it," with the limit that "[n]o greater force . . . shall be resorted to than is necessary to secure the arrest and detention of the accused." The AG read that language as written broadly, applying whenever officers make an arrest rather than being confined to particular warrant types. A companion provision, art. 15.25, separately authorizes breaking down a door in felony cases after notice if admittance is refused.

A parole revocation warrant, the AG explained, is a valid arrest warrant. Texas courts have held that a valid arrest warrant gives an officer authority to enter the residence of the person named in the warrant in order to execute it, and that this authority exists whether the warrant is a traditional arrest warrant or a parole revocation warrant. The cases attach a condition: officers must have a reasonable belief that the person resides at the place to be entered and reason to believe the person is present when the warrant is executed. The silence of the parole-warrant statute on the use of force does not override the general force rule in article 15.24. So an officer with a reasonable belief that the releasee lives at the residence and is present there may use reasonable force to enter and execute the warrant.

What this means for you

This describes what the opinion holds. It is the AG's August 2021 reading; statutes and case law can change, so confirm current law before relying on it.

Peace officers and law enforcement agencies

The opinion treats a parole revocation warrant as a valid arrest warrant subject to the general force rule in article 15.24. Per the AG, the authority to enter turns on a reasonable belief that the releasee resides at the place and is present there, and any force used must be no greater than necessary.

Parolees and residents of a household

The opinion describes the officer's authority, not an open-ended one. The AG ties entry to a reasonable belief about residence and presence, and limits force to what is necessary to secure the arrest and detention.

Legislators and policy staff

The opinion fills a statutory gap by reading the general arrest-force provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 15 onto parole revocation warrants under Government Code chapter 508, subchapter H, rather than treating the subchapter's silence on force as a bar.

Common questions

Q: What is a "blue warrant"?
A: It is a parole revocation warrant issued under Government Code chapter 508, subchapter H, to take a parolee back into custody. Texas courts and practitioners call it a "blue warrant" or "parole violation warrant."

Q: Can an officer force entry to serve one?
A: Per the AG, yes, if the officer has a reasonable belief that the releasee resides at the place to be entered and is present, the officer may use reasonable force to enter and execute the warrant.

Q: The parole-warrant statute doesn't mention force. Doesn't that matter?
A: The AG said it does not change the analysis. The general arrest-force rule in Code of Criminal Procedure article 15.24 applies to any arrest, and a parole revocation warrant is a valid arrest warrant.

Q: How much force is allowed?
A: Article 15.24 permits "all reasonable means" but no greater force than necessary to secure the arrest and detention. Under art. 15.25, an officer may break down a door in a felony case after giving notice and being refused admittance.

Q: What conditions limit entry into a home?
A: The cases the AG cited require the officer to have a reasonable belief that the suspect resides at the place to be entered and reason to believe the suspect is present when the warrant is executed.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (articles 15.01 through 15.27) governs arrests under warrant. Under art. 15.01, a warrant of arrest is directed to a peace officer commanding the arrest. Article 15.24 supplies the force rule, "all reasonable means" with the necessity limit, and article 15.25 authorizes breaking down a door in felony cases after notice and refusal.

Parole revocation warrants come from a different chapter: Government Code chapter 508, subchapter H (sections 508.251 through 508.256). Per § 508.251, the issuing authority is the director of the pardons and parole division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the director's designee, or the board on the Governor's order. Under § 508.252, there are four grounds for issuance, including ineligible release, arrest for an offense, a self-authenticating document under Texas Rule of Evidence 902 showing a violation of a release condition, or reliable evidence of behavior showing the person poses a danger warranting immediate return to custody. Under § 508.254(b), the warrant authorizes a named officer to take custody and detain the person.

To bridge the two chapters, the AG relied on case law. Morgan v. State and Rice v. State hold that a valid arrest warrant lets an officer enter the residence of the person named to execute it, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's 1980 decision in Payton v. New York (445 U.S. 573). The Fort Worth court of appeals in Reno v. State applied that authority to a parole revocation warrant specifically. Ex parte White and Diaz v. State supply the "blue warrant" and "parole violation warrant" labels. The entry conditions, reasonable belief as to residence and presence, come from Morgan, which quoted the federal decision U.S. v. Lauter.

Citations and references

Statutes and rules:

• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 15.01, 15.24, 15.25 (arrest warrants; what force may be used; breaking a door in felony cases)
• Tex. Gov't Code §§ 508.251–.256 (parole revocation warrants; issuance, grounds, custody)
• Tex. R. Evid. 902 (self-authenticating documents)

Key cases:

• Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980) (U.S. Supreme Court; arrest warrant carries limited authority to enter a suspect's home)
• Morgan v. State, 963 S.W.2d 201 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no pet.) (valid arrest warrant lets officer enter the named person's residence)
• Reno v. State, 882 S.W.2d 106 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1994, pet. ref'd) (officer used a parole revocation warrant to enter a residence)
• Rice v. State, No. 01-02-00094-CR, 2003 WL 1342605 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. ref'd) (parole revocation warrant is a valid arrest warrant for entry)
• Ex parte White, 400 S.W.3d 92 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (refers to a subchapter H warrant as a "blue warrant")
• U.S. v. Lauter, 57 F.3d 212 (2d Cir. 1995) (federal court; reasonable-belief standard for residence and presence)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/ken-paxton/kp-0381
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2021/kp-0381.pdf

Original opinion text

KEN PAXTON
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

August 24, 2021

The Honorable Joan Huffman
Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068

Opinion No. KP-0381

Re: Whether a peace officer is prohibited from forcing entry into a residence or dwelling to enforce a parole revocation warrant for the arrest of a releasee (RQ-0416-KP)

Dear Senator Huffman:

You ask whether a peace officer is "prohibited from forcing entry into a residence or dwelling to enforce a parole-revocation warrant for the arrest of a releasee."¹

Chapter 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes the general procedures for arrests under warrant. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. arts. 15.01–.27. Under those procedures, a magistrate issues a warrant of arrest "directed to a peace officer or some other person specially named, commanding him to take the body of the person accused of an offense, to be dealt with according to law." Id. art. 15.01. The Legislature has provided that in making an arrest, "all reasonable means are permitted to be used to effect it." Id. art. 15.24 (titled "What force may be used"). "No greater force, however, shall be resorted to than is necessary to secure the arrest and detention of the accused." Id. The Legislature has expressly authorized breaking down a door under certain circumstances to execute an arrest warrant for a suspect accused of a felony: "In case of felony, the officer may break down the door of any house for the purpose of making an arrest, if he be refused admittance after giving notice of his authority and purpose." Id. art. 15.25.

In addition to chapter 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, chapter 508, subchapter H, of the Government Code authorizes the issuance of parole revocation warrants, also referred to as "blue warrants" or "parole violation warrants." See TEX. GOV'T CODE §§ 508.251–.256; Ex parte White, 400 S.W.3d 92, 93 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (referring to a subchapter H warrant as a "blue warrant"); Diaz v. State, 110 S.W.3d 181, 183 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2003, pet. ref'd) (referring to a subchapter H warrant as a "parole violation warrant"). A parole revocation warrant is issued by the director of the pardons and parole division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the director's designee, or the board of the pardons and parole division on order of the Governor. TEX. GOV'T CODE § 508.251. Subchapter H establishes four grounds for issuance of a parole revocation warrant:

(1) there is reason to believe that the person has been released although not eligible for release;

(2) the person has been arrested for an offense;

(3) there is a document that is self-authenticating as provided by Rule 902, Texas Rules of Evidence, stating that the person violated a rule or condition of release; or

(4) there is reliable evidence that the person has exhibited behavior during the person's release that indicates to a reasonable person that the person poses a danger to society that warrants the person's immediate return to custody.

Id. § 508.252. Once issued, the warrant "authorizes any officer named by the warrant to take custody of the person and detain the person." Id. § 508.254(b). You note that the Government Code does not "specify whether force may be used when executing this type of warrant," and you therefore seek guidance on this issue. Request Letter at 2–3.

Texas courts have explained that a valid arrest warrant provides an officer authority "to enter the residence of the person named in the warrant in order to execute that warrant." Morgan v. State, 963 S.W.2d 201, 203 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no pet.) (citing Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 603 (1980)). This authority exists whether the warrant issued is a traditional arrest warrant or parole revocation warrant. See Reno v. State, 882 S.W.2d 106, 108 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1994, pet. ref'd) (considering an officer's use of a parole revocation warrant to enter a residence where the officer reasonably believed the defendant to be). "Officers executing an arrest warrant must have a reasonable belief that the suspect resides at the place to be entered . . . and [have] reason to believe that the suspect is present at the time the warrant is executed." Morgan, 963 S.W.2d at 204 (quoting U.S. v. Lauter, 57 F.3d 212, 215 (2d. Cir. 1995)).

The language chosen by the Legislature in article 15.24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is not limited to certain types of arrests but instead applies broadly when officers make an arrest:

In making an arrest, all reasonable means are permitted to be used to effect it. No greater force, however, shall be resorted to than is necessary to secure the arrest and detention of the accused.

TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 15.24. The fact that chapter 508, subchapter H, of the Government Code does not mention that officers executing parole revocation warrants may use force when necessary does not change this analysis. A parole revocation warrant is a "valid arrest warrant" that "provides an officer authority to enter the residence of the person named in the warrant in order to execute the warrant." Rice v. State, No. 01-02-00094-CR, 2003 WL 1342605, at *5 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 20, 2003, pet. ref'd). Thus, if a peace officer has a reasonable belief that a defendant resides at the place to be entered, the peace officer possesses authority to use reasonable force to enter a residence and execute a parole revocation warrant for the arrest of a releasee.

¹ Letter from Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Comm. on Jurisprudence, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (July 8, 2021) ("Request Letter").

S U M M A R Y

Chapter 508, subchapter H, of the Government Code authorizes the issuance of parole revocation warrants if a parolee violates a condition of a parole or in other specified circumstances. Under article 15.24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an officer executing a parole revocation warrant is authorized to use reasonable force to effectuate the warrant (like any other valid arrest warrant). If an officer has a reasonable belief that the suspect resides at the place to be entered and is present, the officer has authority to use reasonable force to enter the residence in order to execute the warrant.

Very truly yours,

KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas

BRENT E. WEBSTER
First Assistant Attorney General

LESLEY FRENCH
Chief of Staff

MURTAZA F. SUTARWALLA
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER
Chair, Opinion Committee