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

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.

If you don't do exactly what an officer tells you to do in a tense situation, you can be seen as a resistor. When that happens, you may very well be arrested and taken to jail even though you haven't really done anything wrong. You should know that the prosecution has to prove you were committing a crime. They have to prove you knew the individual you were in conflict with was a police officer, establish that the police officer acted legally, and prove that you were acting intentionally.

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.

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.

If you are convicted of a felony charge, it is much more serious. In this instance, you may go to jail for three years. If you live in Louisiana, it could be as long as ten years. You will have to pay a fine that could cost you ten thousand dollars. You would have to meet with a parole officer every week or month to report in.

It is in your favor that it's hard to prove someone was intentionally resisting arrest. You can argue that excessive force was used and that you were protecting yourself and acting in self-defense. You can also say that the officer in question had no right to arrest you because he was not authorized.

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.

There is an argument that there was no threat, or the potential for harm, on your part. If you attempted to run away, or were yelling at the officer, without actually causing harm, you probably have a case. In any event you will need the services of an experienced lawyer to represent you.




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