Benefit of an Attorney for DC Resisting Arrest Charges
Facing a criminal charge can be intimidating, especially for a person who has never been arrested or charged with a crime. However, an experienced DC resisting arrest lawyer can help explain what to expect throughout your case, from the initial arrest, through the hearings in court, to investigating the charge, and all the way to a trial.
An attorney can focus on investigating the facts and circumstances of the alleged offense, developing defenses, negotiating with prosecutors, and preparing for a potential trial. They can start working on all of this the moment that a person knows they are being investigated or have been arrested for resisting. If the person is being investigated for another crime and there is the potential to be arrested, an attorney may be able to advise the person as to what to do and what not to do to avoid an additional resisting arrest charge.
Initial Consultation
An attorney will, first and foremost, want to know what happened. The details of a case are important, so the attorney may ask questions related to what the person was doing before coming into contact with law enforcement and who else they were with at the time. The attorney may then want to know exactly what was said between the defendant and the police, which will help establish whether or not they had reason to believe the person arresting them was a law enforcement officer.
The attorney can also ask how the law enforcement officer was dressed, and if the officer was undercover. They may ask about the physical contact that the person had with law enforcement and how it was initiated. Ultimately, all of these details can help the attorney figure out what happened and develop potential defenses to the person’s case.
Defense Investigation
A lawyer can determine the surrounding circumstances of the charge, including what happened prior to and during the alleged resisting conduct. This can help the lawyer evaluate the defendant’s behavior to determine whether they were really resisting arrest.
A lawyer may also look for information that can help establish that the defendant did not have reason to believe that the person trying to arrest them was a police officer, which is an element of the offense.
Motion to Dismiss
A lawyer can first evaluate a person’s case to determine whether law enforcement had probable cause to detain them in DC. If the lawyer believes that probable cause did not exist, they can file a pre-trial motion to try to get the case dismissed.
The lawyer would have to argue to the judge why dismissal would be the appropriate remedy. Alternatively, if probable cause did exist for the arrest, but the case, in general, is weak for the prosecution’s side, the lawyer may negotiate with the prosecutor in an attempt to get a favorable resolution to the case that ultimately results in a dismissal.