Rule 21.07 Misdemeanors - Corporations - Summons

When a corporation is charged with a misdemeanor crime, the court sends the corporation a summons instead of arresting anyone. A summons is basically an official notice that tells the corporation it has been charged and needs to respond to the court.

This makes sense because a corporation is not a person. You cannot arrest a company or put it in jail. So instead of an arrest warrant, the court uses a summons to officially notify the corporation of the charges and require it to appear or answer through its legal representatives.

For anyone dealing with a corporation facing misdemeanor charges, this rule means the case moves forward through paperwork and notice, not through arrest. The corporation still has to take the charges seriously and respond through the court process, but the method of bringing it into the case is different from how an individual person would be charged.