Experienced Scotch Plains, NJ Criminal Lawyers Fight for Clients Facing Resisting Arrest Charges in New Jersey
If you are being detained and aggressively questioned by a police officer, especially if you believe that you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s a natural reaction to respond with frustration and fear. Further, if an officer decides to use force as he or she is placing you under arrest, it’s understandable that you may begin to argue or become combative. Unfortunately, an individual’s actions, brought on by the natural fear or anxiety he or she feels in this situation, can be mistaken for the illegal act of resisting arrest. You may be charged with resisting arrest if an officer of the law believes that you are preventing them from doing their job in making an arrest of either yourself or someone else.
If you have been charged with resisting arrest (also referred to as eluding), then hiring a highly skilled criminal defense attorney is your best chance at getting the charges dropped or reduced. The criminal defense lawyers at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC have extensive experience successfully defending clients against these charges. Several of our attorneys are former prosecutors. This allows our legal team to view the case from all angles and to anticipate the prosecution’s tactics. The act of resisting arrest is subjective in nature, which means that it’s very much “their word against yours.” This can work for you or against you, but a talented attorney will know how to use it to your advantage.
Skilled NJ Criminal Defense Attorneys Represent Clients Charged with Resisting Arrest in Union County, Essex County, & Somerset County
As with all criminal charges in New Jersey, there are different levels of severity for resisting arrest. Each comes with its own set of penalties.
If no other factors come into play, resisting arrest is considered a disorderly persons offense and carries a possible jail term of up to six months.
If you “flee” (run away from) law enforcement during the arrest, the charges will be elevated to a fourth degree crime and you may spend 18 months in jail.
If you used, or threatened to use, violence during the arrest, it becomes a third degree crime with the potential to put you behind bars for five years.
It is also a third degree crime if a motor vehicle was involved in your efforts to resist arrest. For example, if you are ordered to pull over and you speed off, this is a third degree crime. That’s serious enough on its own, but if you injured a police officer while fleeing in your vehicle (or just created a risky situation that could have caused injury), you might wind up in prison for 10 years.
The lawyers at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC will examine every detail of your case to ensure that your rights are protected. We understand that it’s human nature to react when you are threatened and are going through an extremely stressful situation. We know how to position our clients for reduced charges or for a complete dismissal of charges. The prosecution is tasked with convincing the court that your actions in resisting the arrest were entirely intentional and that you were consciously trying to avoid the arrest. This is hard to prove.
We know that the fear of being restrained is very real. If your actions were based on fear, the prosecution will have a hard time winning their case. We serve clients in Scotch Plains, Union, Westfield, Elizabeth, and across New Jersey — and we want to help you. Law enforcement can be extremely intimidating, even when an individual is innocent of any wrongdoing. If you are facing resisting arrest charges in NJ, don’t let law enforcement intimidate you anymore. We will be your strongest advocate throughout the entire legal process.
Contact an Experienced Elizabeth, NJ Criminal Defense Lawyer to Fight Your Resisting Arrest Charges Today
The experienced and successful criminal defense lawyers at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC will fight to protect your rights and your freedom. Don’t let fear be mistaken for a crime. If you’ve been charged with resisting arrest, or any other criminal charge in New Jersey, contact us today for a free consultation in Westfield, Scotch Plains, Newark, Cherry Hill, Clifton, or East Brunswick, NJ.
