Yes—but California gives you more than the single phone call commonly shown on television. If you are arrested and booked, California Penal Code § 851.5 generally gives you the right to make at least three completed telephone calls, except when providing access is physically impossible.
The distinction between being detained and arrested matters. A brief investigative detention does not automatically trigger the same statutory phone rights as an arrest followed by booking.
When Do You Get to Make Phone Calls After an Arrest in California?
California law requires telephone access immediately upon booking and, except where physically impossible, no later than three hours after the arrest. The right is to make at least three completed calls, not merely three attempts.
Calls within the local calling area must be provided without charge. California law allows calls outside the local calling area at the arrested person’s expense.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office similarly states that people being booked have access to phones for the calls required by the laws. Its intake holding areas have phones available for free local calls.
Who Can You Call After You Are Arrested?
California Penal Code § 851.5 allows an arrested adult to make calls to three categories of people:
- An attorney of your choice or, if you cannot afford one, the public defender or another attorney provided for indigent defendants
- A bail bond agent
- A relative or another person
A call to an attorney receives special protection. The statute states that the attorney call cannot be monitored, eavesdropped on, or recorded.
That protection does not automatically extend to calls with friends or relatives. If you discuss the facts of an arrest during an ordinary jail call, those statements may create problems later. For more information about speaking with police after an arrest, see this resource on Miranda rights.
Do Parents Get Additional Phone Calls?
Yes. An arrested person who is a custodial parent responsible for a minor child can request two additional telephone calls to arrange care for the child.
The arresting or booking officer must ask whether the arrested person has responsibility for a minor child and advise qualifying parents about these additional calls. Like the standard calls, local calls are provided at no expense.
This provision recognizes that an unexpected arrest can leave a child without a parent available to make immediate care arrangements.
Do Minors Have the Same Phone Rights?
California has a separate rule for minors taken into custody. Under Welfare and Institutions Code § 627, a minor taken to a place of confinement generally must be advised of the right to make at least two telephone calls within one hour, unless providing the calls is physically impossible.
One call is to a parent, guardian, responsible relative, or employer, and another is to an attorney. A youth taken into custody can make at least two calls within an hour of arrest.
What Happens If Police Do Not Let You Make a Phone Call?
California Penal Code § 851.5 makes it a misdemeanor for a public officer or employee to willfully deprive an arrested person of the telephone rights provided by the statute.
That does not mean criminal charges against the arrested person are automatically dismissed because phone access was delayed or denied. The legal effect depends on what occurred and whether the violation affected other rights or evidence in the criminal case.
If you are arrested, it is also important to remember that the right to make a telephone call is separate from your rights as a criminal defendant, including the right to remain silent and the right to counsel in circumstances where those constitutional protections apply.
Contact the San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyers at Blair Defense Criminal Lawyers for a Free Case Review Today
An arrest can move quickly from booking to questioning, bail decisions, and a first court appearance. Knowing that California provides specific telephone rights can help you contact an attorney and notify someone you trust without relying on the familiar myth that you are entitled to only one call.
For more information, contact an experienced San Diego criminal defense lawyer at Blair Defense Criminal Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today.
We proudly serve San Diego County and its surrounding areas.
Blair Defense Criminal Lawyers
225 Broadway Suite 1750
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 357-4977
