(a) When a complaint is filed with a magistrate charging a felony originally triable in the superior court of the county in which he or she sits, if, and only if, the magistrate is satisfied from the complaint that the offense complained of has been committed and that there is reasonable ground to believe that the defendant has committed it, the magistrate shall issue a warrant for the arrest of the defendant, except that, upon the request of the prosecutor, a summons instead of an arrest warrant shall be issued.
(b) A summons issued pursuant to this section shall be in substantially the same form as an arrest warrant and shall contain all of the following:
(1) The name of the defendant.
(2) The date and time the summons was issued.
(3) The city or county where the summons was issued.
(4) The signature of the magistrate, judge, justice, or other issuing authority who is issuing the summons with the title of his or her office and the name of the court or other issuing agency.
(5) The offense or offenses with which the defendant is charged.
(6) The time and place at which the defendant is to appear.
(7) Notification that the defendant is to complete the booking process on or before his or her first court appearance, as well as instructions for the defendant on completing the booking process.
(8) A provision for certification by the booking agency that the defendant has completed the booking process which shall be presented to the court by the defendant as proof of booking.
(c) If a defendant has been properly served with a summons and thereafter fails to appear at the designated time and place, a bench warrant for arrest shall issue. In the absence of proof of actual receipt of the summons by the defendant, a failure to appear shall not be used in any future proceeding.
(d) A defendant who responds to a summons issued pursuant to this section and who has not been booked as provided in subdivision (b) shall be ordered by the court to complete the booking process.
(e) The prosecutor shall not request the issuance of a summons in lieu of an arrest warrant as provided in this section under any of the following circumstances:
(1) The offense charged involves violence.
(2) The offense charged involves a firearm.
(3) The offense charged involves resisting arrest.
(4) There are one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the person.
(5) The prosecution of the offense or offenses with which the person is charged, or the prosecution of any other offense or offenses would be jeopardized.
(6) There is a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses would continue or resume, or that the safety of persons or property would be imminently endangered.
(7) There is reason to believe that the person would not appear at the time and place specified in the summons.
(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 931, Sec. 362. Effective September 28, 1998.)