Friday, December 14, 2018

Defending Yourself Against The Charges Of Resisting Arrest NJ Law Enforcement Might Bring

By Thomas Cooper


The current administration has created a lot of strong feelings when it comes to its attitudes and policies. There are protesters making signs, showing up at rallies and taking to the streets. When officials try to break up demonstrations, innocent protesters can get caught in the crosshairs and be accused of resisting arrest NJ law enforcement will try to prove.

When law enforcement tells you to do something, in the middle of a tense situation, and you do not comply, you can be seen as resisting. If this happens to you, you might be arrested and hauled to jail although you have not done anything to warrant it. One thing you should know is that it's up to the prosecution to prove the case. They must prove you clearly understood the other person involved in the conflict was actually a police officer. They must show that law enforcement acted legally and that you acted with intention.

Passive resistance is the most common way protesters demonstrate their opposition in public. They may sit, lay, and go limp whenever a police officer attempts to remove them from the area. A few will struggle or fight with law enforcement attempting to detain them. Giving bogus information or a fake name when an officer is trying to verify your identity and whether you have a legal right to be in a particular area can get you into trouble.

Breaking this law has serious consequences. If you are convicted on a misdemeanor charge you could be looking at a year in jail and up to four thousand dollars in fines depending on where you live. You might be going to a probation officer for as much as five years and be required not to commit the same offense during that time.

A felony conviction has much more serious consequences. You can be sent to jail for as long as three years. If you are convicted in Louisiana, you could be looking at a ten year sentence. You may have to pay restitution in the form of ten thousand dollars. You will have to see a parole officer for a specified amount of time every month or week.

If there is an upside to a charge of intentional resistance, it is that the charge is hard to prove. Your lawyer might defend on the premise that the officer used excessive force and you were forced to protect yourself in self-defense. The lawyer may also argue that the officer was not authorized to arrest you.

You could argue that the police report did not accurately state the facts. Openly accusing a police officer of lying can backfire on you though. It is a better idea to present your case as one in which you state that the report distorts the facts as you remember them.

You can make the argument that you did not pose a threat or threaten harm when approached. If you tried to run away or yelled at an officer, without causing any harm, you may have a case. Whatever the charge, you are going to need an experienced lawyer to get you out of trouble.




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