The citation may never serve as a complaint at trial.

• A. True
• B. A citation may always serve as a complaint at trial.
• C. A citation may serve as a complaint at trial only with prosecutor approval.
• D. False

Answer: (D)

A citation can function as the charging document in a municipal court case, serving as the complaint when it contains the required information and is properly issued. If the ticket includes the offense, time, place, and sufficient factual allegations, and is authorized for use in court, the court may proceed using the citation as the complaint without a separate document. Therefore, the statement that a citation may never serve as a complaint is not correct. There are situations where a separate sworn complaint is still needed (or where the ticket lacks necessary details), but in appropriate cases the citation can stand as the complaint. No prosecutor approval is required for the citation to serve in this way.