Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog
That is sort of a convoluted title, but the issue is when police can arrest someone for resisting an arrest. In Florida, resisting arrest can be a misdemeanor or felony charge in Florida. It is a misdemeanor if a person resists arrest without violence; it is a felony charge if a person resists arrest with violence. An old joke says that if the suspect wins the fight, it is going to be a felony, and if the police officer gets the upper hand, the suspect may have a shot at coming away with a misdemeanor. In any case, whether the charge is a felony or misdemeanor is based on the subjective determination of the police officer and then ultimately the prosecutor, unless it is clear that serious violence was used to resist arrest.
However, the state cannot just arrest and charge anyone who resists the commands or arrest of an officer. The police officer must have a legal basis to stop, investigate and/or arrest the suspect to begin with. If a person is minding his own business and the police officer tries to detain the person based on suspicion and the person resists, a police officer will often arrest the suspect for resisting arrest. However, the criminal defense lawyer may file a motion to dismiss alleging that the police officer had no legal basis to detain the suspect in the first place so the resisting arrest charge is not valid.
In a recent case near Jacksonville, Florida, the police responded to a domestic dispute. When they arrived, the saw the suspect heatedly arguing with his girlfriend outside of their home. When they arrived, the suspect took the girl inside the house. The police looked through the window and did not see any illegal activity or fighting. The girlfriend ultimately exited the house with no injuries. The police ordered the suspect out of the house, but he refused. They entered his house with the K-9, and an altercation resulted between the suspect and the police. The suspect was charged with resisting arrest with violence.
The charge was ultimately thrown out after an appeal by the criminal defense lawyer. The court found that the police were not within their legal rights to enter the house. They did not see any fighting, any injuries or any crime being committed. By the time they entered the house, the girlfriend was outside so there was no evidence that anyone in the house was in danger. At that point, without evidence of danger or an emergency, the police either needed a search warrant or consent to enter the home. Since they entered the home illegally, they had no right to arrest the suspect so he could not be properly charged with resisting arrest with or without violence.