1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

   1. (1) ARRESTING OFFICER. An officer, employee, or agent of any state or of any political subdivision of a state who is required by law to: (i) maintain public order; (ii) make arrests for offenses, whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to specific offenses; and (iii) investigate the commission or suspected commission of offenses.

   2. (2) FELONY. Any of the following crimes committed in any state:

      1. a. A crime punishable by death.
      2. b. A crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
      3. c. Any crime otherwise punishable as a felony.

   3. (3) FRESH PURSUIT. a. The term includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

      1. 1. The term as defined by the common law.
      2. 2. The pursuit of an individual who has committed a felony or who is reasonably suspected of having committed a felony.
      3. 3. The pursuit of an individual suspected of having committed a supposed felony, though no felony has actually been committed, if there is reasonable ground for believing that a felony has been committed.
      4. b. The term does not necessarily imply instant pursuit, but pursuit without unreasonable delay.
   4. (4) POWER TO ARREST. The legal authority to arrest and hold an individual in custody that is equivalent in scope to an Alabama law enforcement officer’s authority to arrest and hold in custody an individual believed to have committed a felony in this state.
2. (b) Any arresting officer of another state, while engaged in fresh pursuit of an individual believed to have committed a felony in that state, shall have the power to arrest that individual in this state.
3. (c) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to make any arrest in this state unlawful which would otherwise be lawful.

4. (d)

   1. (1) If an arrest is made in this state pursuant to subsection (b), the arresting officer, without unnecessary delay, shall take the individual before a district or circuit judge for the county in which the arrest was made. The judge shall conduct a hearing to determine the lawfulness of the arrest.

   2. (2)

      1. a. If the judge determines that the arrest was lawful, he or she shall commit the individual to custody for a reasonable time to await the issuance of an extradition warrant or admit the individual to bail for the same purpose.
      2. b. If the judge determines that the arrest was not lawful, he or she shall discharge the individual.

(Act 2025-17, §2.)