Resisting Arrest

To be charged with resisting arrest, you must, recklessly or by force, resist or interfere with your own lawful arrest or someone else’s. You will receive harsher penalties if you do any of the following while in the process:

• Cause physical harm to a police officer, whether or not a deadly weapon was used
• Brandish a deadly weapon

Nearly every day in central Ohio people are charged with resisting arrest.  Depending on the severity of the allegations, resisting arrest charges can range from a second degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail to a fourth degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison.

If you are convicted of resisting arrest, additional potential issues include:

• Maintaining your current employment
• Licensure issues in some professions
• Difficulty getting a good job in the future
• Difficulty and possible denial in immigration and naturalization proceedings

Simply put, if you are convicted of resisting arrest, it will be on your criminal background for the rest of your life. No matter what the circumstances were in your case, you run the risk of being considered someone who is unable to respect those who enforce the law in the State of Ohio. Therefore, it is critical that you give your resisting arrest charge the level of importance it deserves.

The Columbus Criminal Defense team takes an aggressive and comprehensive approach when representing clients charged with resisting arrest. First and foremost, we will figure out what mistakes the police made, whether your arrest was lawful and what other legal issues can be raised on your behalf.

We do this by requesting discovery from the prosecutor. The discovery will generally consist of police reports, additional investigative notes and potentially video or audio. As our client, you will receive a copy of everything received from the prosecutor for your review

Based on the legal weaknesses in the State of Ohio’s case and any other mitigating factors, we will negotiate the best possible plea available with the prosecutor for you to consider in resolving your case.

If your case cannot be resolved satisfactorily with a plea, it would then proceed to a motion hearing (a hearing where the judge issues a ruling on an evidentiary issue) or a trial to the judge or jury, depending on the circumstances.

For nearly ten years, the Columbus Criminal Defense team has successfully represented clients charged with resisting arrest. That extensive previous experience will enable us to better help you.