12/16/2018

Defending Yourself Against A Charge Of Resisting Arrest NJ Law Enforcement Brings

By Thomas Cooper


There are a lot of people who have strong feelings about some of the policies and attitudes taken by the current administration. This can cause them to make signs, attend rallies, and take to the streets. Sometimes when law enforcement tries to break up a demonstration innocent protesters are accused of resisting arrest NJ officers threaten them with.

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.

Protesters commonly show their resistance by fighting or struggling with law enforcement attempting to detain them. They may sit down, lay down, or fall limp when a police officer attempts to remove them from the premises. When protesters give fake names or provide bogus information to an official asking them to verify their identity, and right to occupy a particular space, they can be arrested.

Resisting arrest can have serious consequences. If you get convicted for some action considered a misdemeanor, you might spend twelve months in jail and be required to pay a fine of up to four thousand dollars. You may have to meet with a probation officer for five years. During the probation period, you can not be convicted of committing the same offense.

If the charge is considered a felony, and you are convicted, you will face as much as three years in jail. If you were arrested in Louisiana, you could go to jail for ten years. There is a fine of up to ten thousand dollars attached to this conviction. You will have to check in with your parole officer once a month or once a 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 can argue that the report is not factual. You have to be careful if this is your defense because it probably won't help your case to openly accuse the officer of lying. Instead you should argue that the report doesn't reflect the incident as you experienced it.

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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