Resisting Arrest

Raff and Raff > Other Practice Areas > Criminal Law > Resisting Arrest

New Jersey Resisting Arrest Defense Lawyers

People often ask if they are allowed to resist an arrest and if they have to cooperate with the police. In New Jersey, you are not allowed to resist a lawful arrest. You have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney, but you do not have the right to physically resist an arrest or otherwise try to prevent the police from making an arrest, per N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2. Even if you believe that the police are attempting to make a false arrest, it is better to cooperate and challenge the arrest later. If you cooperated and the judge later agrees that the police made a false arrest, then your lawyer could argue that the entire case should be thrown out (if significant evidence was collected after the false arrest occurred). More importantly, it is not a defense to a resisting arrest charge that the officer was making a false arrest as long as the officer appeared to be making a proper arrest (i.e. officer identified himself and stated he was making an arrest).

Penalties for resisting arrest vary greatly based on the extent that the defendant resists the arrest. Simply attempting to resist arrest is a disorderly persons offense. This is usually the appropriate charge when the defendant was only accidentally resisting. If the person purposely resists or tries to resist by fleeing or running away, then it is a crime of the 4th degree. It is a crime in the 3rd degree to use violence, threaten violence, or do anything else that puts the officer or public at risk, and the penalty could include a jail term of 3 to 5 years and a fine up to $15,000.

The crime of eluding is even more serious. Eluding essentially occurs when an officer signals a car or boat to stop and the driver refuses to stop. The classic “high-speed chase” is eluding. At a minimum, eluding is a crime of the 3rd degree. But often times the driver runs red lights, speeds, ignores stop signs, passes illegally, etc. and by doing this the driver is creating a risk of death or injury. This escalates the eluding charge to a crime of the 2nd degree, and penalties for this include a jail sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $150,000.

Resisting Arrest Criminal Defense Lawyer Approach (Why Us?)

A person charged with resisting arrest or eluding could be facing a sentence of many years in prison, along with high fines and other penalties. If you are charged with such a crime you will need a lawyer to protect your rights. Besides harsh penalties, a conviction or guilty plea could seriously affect a person for years into the future. Our firm will fight vigorously for you and help you achieve the best results for your arson case. We are skilled at analyzing the evidence that the state intends to use against you and we fight to exploit any holes in the prosecutor’s case. We also spend a considerable amount of time in negotiating with the prosecutor so that our client’s get the best plea offers possible. Once a plea offer is made, we counsel our clients about whether it makes sense to accept a plea offer or take their case to trial, where the prosecutor would have to prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Eluding/Resisting Arrest Defense Lawyer Free Consultation

If you are charged with any crime, please call us right away for a 100% FREE CONSULTATION, on the phone or in our office. We will review the court documents with you and advise you on what we can do to help you. Remember, the prosecutor’s job is to put people charged with crimes in jail. The prosecutor will not simply listen to your side of the story and drop the case against you. It is important to be represented by a skilled criminal defense attorney.
Please contact us today!
Raff & Raff, LLP
Attorneys at Law
30 Church Street
Paterson, NJ 07505
Tel: (973) 742-1917
Fax: (973) 742-2454

Based in Paterson, New Jersey, Raff & Raff, LLP services clients in the communities of Bloomingdale, Clifton, Haledon, Hawthorne, Little Falls, Passaic, Paterson, Pompton Lakes, Prospect Park, Ringwood, Totowa, Wanaque, Wayne, West Milford, Woodland Park, Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Carlstadt, Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, East Rutherford, Edgewater, Elmwood Park, Emerson, Englewood, Fair Lawn, Fort Lee, Franklin Lakes, Garfield, Glenn Rock, Hackensack, Hasbrouck Heights, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Leonia, Little Ferry, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Mahwah, Maywood, Midland Park, Montvale, Moonachie, New Milford, North Arlington, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Oradell, Palisades Park, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, Ridgefield, Ridgewood, River Edge, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Rockleigh, Rutherford, Saddle Brook, Saddle River, Teaneck, Tenafly, Teterboro, Waldwick, Wallington, Westwood, Wood-Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Wyckoff, Belleville, Bloomfield, Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Orange, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair, Newark, North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, Verona, Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, Secaucus, Kearney, Harrison, North Bergen, Weehawken, Elizabeth, Linden, Plainsfield, Rahway, Union, Scotch Plains, Clark, Cranford, Hillside, Westfield, Roselle, and surrounding areas.