330
Opinion of the Court
less misdemeanor arrest, not to its necessity. Blackstone recognized that at common law "[t]he constable . . . hath great original and inherent authority with regard to arrests," but with respect to nonfelony offenses said only that "[h]e may, without warrant, arrest any one for a breach of the peace, and carry him before a justice of the peace." 4 Blackstone 289. Not long after the framing of the Fourth Amendment, East characterized peace officers' common-law arrest power in much the same way: "A constable or other known conservator of the peace may lawfully interpose upon his own view to prevent a breach of the peace, or to quiet an affray . . . ." 1 E. East, Pleas of the Crown § 71, p. 303 (1803).
The great commentators were not unanimous, however, and there is also considerable evidence of a broader conception of common-law misdemeanor arrest authority unlimited by any breach-of-the-peace condition. Sir Matthew Hale, Chief Justice of King's Bench from 1671 to 1676,3 wrote in his History of the Pleas of the Crown that, by his "original and inherent power," a constable could arrest without a warrant "for breach of the peace and some misdemeanors, less than felony." 2 M. Hale, Pleas of the Crown 88 (1736). Hale's view, posthumously published in 1736, reflected an understanding dating back at least 60 years before the appearance of his Pleas yet sufficiently authoritative to sustain a momentum extending well beyond the framing era in this country. See The Compleat Parish-Officer 11 (1744) ("[T]he Constable . . . may for Breach of the Peace, and some Misdemeanors less than Felony, imprison a Man"); R. Burn, The Justice of the Peace 271 (1837) ("A constable . . . may at common law, for treason, felony, breach of the peace, and some misdemeanors less than felony, committed in his view, apprehend the supposed offender without any warrant" (italics in original)); 1 J. Chitty, A Practical
3 E. Foss, The Judges of England 113 (1864).
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