Resisting Arrest Attorney in Orange County

If you or a loved one has been charged with Resisting Arrest do not wait! Call The Law Offices of Bryan R. Kazarian. The best legal defense is to have an experienced attorney fight for you. The well-trained and experienced attorneys at The Law Offices of Bryan R. Kazarian know the law and are experienced in defending charges for Resisting Arrest and have been successful in dismissing Resisting Arrest cases.

When a person is charged with resisting, obstructing, or delaying a peace officer/public officer/emergency medical technician in the performance or attempted performance of his/her duties in violation of Penal Code section 148(a), they can only be convicted if the following elements are proven.

To show that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that:

  1. The victim was and or is a peace officer/public officer /emergency medical technician lawfully performing or attempting to perform his/her duties as a peace officer/public officer/emergency medical technician;
  2. The defendant willfully resisted, obstructed, or delayed the officer/public officer/emergency medical technician in the performance or attempted performance of those duties;

AND

  1. When the defendant acted, he/she knew, or reasonably should have known, that the victim was a peace officer/public officer/emergency medical technician performing or attempting to perform his/her duties.

Who Is Protected

Police Officer

A police officer is defined as a “government employee who is responsible for the prevention, investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws, including an employee engaged in this activity who is transferred to a supervisory or administrative position; or serving as a probation or pretrial services officer.”

Example:

LAPD Police Officer, Deputy Sheriff, FBI agent.

Public Officer

A public officer is defined as an individual who has been elected or appointed to exercise the functions of an office for the benefit of the public.

Example:

President, state governors, members of congress.

Emergency Medical Technician (E.M.T)

An emergency medical technician is someone who holds a valid certificate as an emergency medical technician. Also referred to as an E.M.T.

Example: Ambulance driver.

Victim Was / Is A Peace Officer / Public Officer / Emergency Medical Technician Who Was Lawfully Performing Or Attempting To Perform His Or Her Duties.

This element is met whether the police officer, E.M.T, or public officer is performing or attempting to perform their duties i.e., their “ job”. For this element to be established by the prosecution, the prosecution must establish that the police officer, E.M.T, or public officer was acting while on duty.

Example:

  • Police officer while on patrol, pulls over a car for speeding.
  • E.M.T transporting a wounded person to the hospital.
  • Public officer taking a vote at city council meeting.

The Defendant Willfully Resist, Obstructed, Or Delayed The  Peace Officer / Public Officer / Emergency Medical Technician In The Performance Or Attempted Performance Of His Or Her Duty.

For this element to be met the prosecution must prove that the defendant acted willfully. To act willfully means to act on purpose. It is not required that the defendant intend to break the law, hurt someone else, or gain any advantage. For this element to be met the defendant must willfully resist, obstruct or delay the police officer, E.M.T, or public officer from doing his or her job.

Example:

Police officer pulls over the defendant after a pursuit and  attempts to place the defendant in handcuffs. The defendant flees on foot from the police officer in an attempt to escape.

Defendant Knew Or Reasonably Should Have Known That The Victim Was A Peace Officer / Public Officer / Emergency Medical Technician In The Performance Or Attempted Performance Of His Or Her Duty.

To satisfy this element, the prosecution must establish that the defendant should have known and actually knew that the victim was a police officer, E.M.T, or public officer. This element is met where a reasonable person in the defendant’s same or similar circumstance would have known or should have known that he/she was in contact with a police officer, E.M.T., or public officer.

Example:

Police officer pulls over the defendant after a pursuit and  attempts to place the defendant in handcuffs.The defendant flees on foot from the police officer in an attempt to escape.

This would satisfy (Pen. Code,§ 148(a), because the defendant was stopped by (1) a Police officer, who (2) was attempting to perform of performing his/her duty as a police officer by placing the defendant under arrest, (3) the defendant resisted the police officers arrest by willfully  fleeing from the police officer with the intent to escape and (4) a reasonable person in the defendants position would have known that a police officer was attempting to make arrest when an uniformed police officer with a badge reaches into his/her utility belt, pulls out metal handcuffs, grabs the defendants arm to place his handcuffs around the wrists of the defendant. Absent some extraordinary events, a reasonable person would not intentionally flee from a police officer unless they intended to escape. Thus, under this example a defendant may be found guilty of Pen. Code § 148(a) because all four elements are met.

Defenses

In order to be found guilty of Penal Code § 148(a), the prosecution must establish each and every element beyond a reasonable doubt.

Some common defenses to  § 148(a) are:

  1. The victim was not a police officer, E.M.T, or public officer but was rather just a member of the public.
  2. The police officer was not performing or attempting to perform his or her duties because the police officer was conducting illegal activity in violation of one’s constitutional rights.
  3. The defendant did not reasonably  know he or she was interacting with a police officer, E.M.T, or public officer.
  4. The defendant did not willfully resist arrest because he/she did not have full range of motion in his/her arm due to a medical condition (example: shoulder surgery).

Do not Wait! Call Now!

The facts of your case are critical to a valid defense. If you or a loved one have been charged with Pen. Code,§ 148(a) Resisting Arrest, do not wait. Call the experienced attorneys at The Law Offices of Bryan R. Kazarian. The attorneys at The Law Offices of Bryan R. Kazarian have been successful in dismissing Penal Code §148(a) Resisting Arrest cases.

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