Obstruction of justice involves interfering with law enforcement in performing their duties. I see many cases where people attempt to destroy evidence when they see law enforcement or the police trying to investigate a crime.
Someone needs to be more cooperative with them and listen to them. Typically, that person will be arrested – hopefully not beaten. Obstruction of justice is covered under California Penal Code Section 148(a).
But sometimes they're beaten too, and then they're charged with obstruction of justice, battery on a police officer, and a whole host of other charges. So, suppose you're trying to figure out how to deal with an obstruction of justice charge.
In that case, you're going to have to have some rationale or reasoning as to why you were having an issue with law enforcement and whatever it is they were claiming you were doing, why you believe it was lawful. Your criminal defense attorney will have to have local connections to negotiate your case or try it in front of a jury if that is feasible under the circumstances.
Types of Obstruction of Justice
The types of crimes that qualify as obstruction of justice relate to lying to a police officer during an investigation, giving them false or misleading evidence, attempting to destroy evidence is another way that you can have an obstruction of justice case charged against you, dissuading a witness, or preventing them from testifying.
In fact, if you get in the way of law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties, try to stop them, or don't cooperate with them, and it can be proved that they are in the official performance of their duties, then you can be charged and even convicted of obstruction of justice.
What Constitutes Official Performance of Their Duties?
This is where many cases can be argued and won because police often do things that are not in the official performance of their duties.
They're being rude and nasty – they're being bullies – and people stand up to them, and then they get taken out and charged with obstruction of justice.
So, suppose any type of evidence, be it witnesses, video evidence, or anything else, can show that the police are outside the performance of their duties and not doing what they're supposed to. In that case, it can be argued that they used unreasonable force and did not have the right to command somebody to do something they now claim is obstruction of justice.
A lot of times I see this in domestic violence cases where they come out to the scene, everybody's yelling and screening emotional, and they start telling people to do things, be quiet, sit down. They separate everybody to interview them, and then somebody doesn't cooperate.
Somebody's mad, somebody's yelling, somebody's drunk, and then that's when the person's going to get arrested and is going to get charged with obstruction of justice and a host of other crimes if they're the person that was involved in the domestic battery, they'll be accused of that too.
The problem is that the prosecutors do not like it when you do anything related to law enforcement. Usually, in Los Angeles, when it comes to obstruction of justice charges, law enforcement and the prosecutors are friends, so the prosecutors are careful not to do anything that law enforcement perceives as against them or unreasonable.
Experienced Criminal Lawyer
This is where a great criminal defense attorney has to come in and say to the prosecutor, wait a minute; you're not going to get dragged down into this mud. These guys operated improperly, and they should, therefore, not be able to do what they've done, and you shouldn't be able to charge my client with this crime. If you do and you persist in it, we're going to take it in front of a jury, we're going to embarrass these police officers, and we're going to get the case dismissed.
You won't take that position if they have a solid obstruction of justice case against you. That's when you sit down with an attorney like me, who's been doing it for twenty-five years.
We lay everything out on the table, you tell the truth about what happened, we assess the witnesses you have, and we really determine whether an obstruction of justice case is warranted.
If warranted, we will get all of the good things about you, such as character letters. We will show some of the reasoning behind why you did what you did. We're going to try to get something other than an obstruction of justice charge, some other charge, maybe some diversionary program, and see what we can do about getting you out of the criminal justice system as fast as humanly possible, keeping your record clean, and keeping you out of custody. So, make the call; take the step now.
If you're charged with obstruction of justice or any other crime in L.A. County, call me, and we'll figure out precisely what it will take to get you the result you must have.
Obstruction of Justice Attorney
Committing obstruction of justice is a very serious criminal offense. It is the crime of interfering with the administration and due process of the law. It includes interfering with any investigation or criminal proceeding.
To be charged, law enforcement must believe or have strong evidence that you influenced or attempted to influence a proceeding or an investigation in some manner. Depending on the obstruction committed, a conviction for obstruction of justice can result in a jail term of up to ten years.
It can also result in heavy fines, community service, probation, and a misdemeanor or felony charge on your criminal record. A few examples of offenses that may be considered an obstruction of justice include the following:
- Lying to law enforcement during questioning
- Giving a false statement
- Falsifying, hiding, or destroying evidence
- Falsifying, hiding, or destroying documents
- Paying someone else to give false evidence or testimony
- Attempting to influence a jury or witness before or during trial
- Assaulting or threatening a person for operating in a police investigation
At the Hedding Law Firm, we recommend that you meet with a professional and experienced criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights. Failure to do so will damage your case. An obstruction of justice charge can be tried in state or federal court, depending on the proceeding that was interfered with.
Our lawyers are well-qualified and educated in state and federal legal systems. We will personally review your case and provide you with a strong defense.
