Resisting Arrest can be a Bogus Charge
Summer is just around the corner. BBQ’s, bars, and patio drinking means the police will be out in full force looking to arrest you for any crime they can think of. After all, arrests equal money for the city and performance evaluations for the officers. One common offense is a charge for resisting arrest or obstructing a police officer. An officer can justify charging this offense in a situation where an officer put their hand on a person they are arresting and that person shrugs away; a harmless gesture that is practically a natural response to a stranger grabbing. Unfortunately, that harmless response can result in you being charged with a felony.
Resisting Arrest Charges in Michigan
Resisting arrest, often referred to as R and O, is a felony. The most severe degree could land you in prison for 20 years. The more common offense is a 2-year felony.
In one case we had out of Madison Heights, Michigan, the defendant was charged with the two-year offense or resisting arrest because her pants were falling down while officers were walking her to her car for yelling in the neighborhood and causing a disturbance. To avoid embarrassment she dropped to the ground so the neighborhood wouldn’t see her in her underwear. The police charged her with felony resisting arrest for that; clearly an example of officers trying to harass someone and try to ruin their life by charging them with a felony. Luckily, we were able to get great testimony from the overly rude officer at the preliminary exam. While we were picking a jury for trial the Oakland County Prosecutor finally caved and dismissed the bogus resisting arrest charge.
Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Aaron J. Boria
Your gut will tell you if you did something wrong or if you were overly charged. We fight for our clients and we get the results that they deserve. Don’t let a lazy attorney who claims to be a criminal lawyer, or one that’s too busy push you into a plea because they don’t have time for you. At Aaron J. Boria, PLLC, we limit the number of cases we take because we give the cases we do take the extra attention they need in order to be winners.
Call (734) 453-7806 today for a free consultation.
