Public defender arrested for resisting arrest.

[Berkut]

Turns out that she was apparently released after an hour because the arresting officer failed to show up to file a complaint.

There needs to be some kind of consequence for this - the police cannot be allowed to imprison people simply to get them out of their way, then "not file a complaint" and call it a day.

If there are grounds for charging her, then charge her. If there are not, then what the officer did is potentially criminal.

This reminds me of the New Orleans cops who arrested the football official.

But discretion in charging is an important part of policework.  It happens all the time.  Police come upon the scene of what appears to be a crime.  They arrest the person who appears to be committing a crime.  Then they investigate further only to determine that no crime was in fact being committed.

And there are consequences.  There are police complaint procedures in every jurisdiction.  In addition to that, a person can file a civil lawsuit.

There is a difference between an arrest made in good faith and one not made in good faith.

[Tonitrus]

Turns out that she was apparently released after an hour because the arresting officer failed to show up to file a complaint.

There needs to be some kind of consequence for this - the police cannot be allowed to imprison people simply to get them out of their way, then "not file a complaint" and call it a day.

If there are grounds for charging her, then charge her. If there are not, then what the officer did is potentially criminal.

This reminds me of the New Orleans cops who arrested the football official.

But discretion in charging is an important part of policework.  It happens all the time.  Police come upon the scene of what appears to be a crime.  They arrest the person who appears to be committing a crime.  Then they investigate further only to determine that no crime was in fact being committed.

And there are consequences.  There are police complaint procedures in every jurisdiction.  In addition to that, a person can file a civil lawsuit.

There is a difference between an arrest made in good faith and one not made in good faith.

Indeed.  Such discretion is all well and good, but abuse of it needs to be dealt with severely.  And it seems in nearly 100% of cases, the police administration just says "it's all good".

[Richard Hakluyt]

The smart cop does it out in the parking lot.  But what the fuck do I know.

Well that was what amazed me; abuse of power is one thing, but abusing your power over a public defender while another public defender is recording the whole thing seems pretty stupid.

[Barrister]

Turns out that she was apparently released after an hour because the arresting officer failed to show up to file a complaint.

There needs to be some kind of consequence for this - the police cannot be allowed to imprison people simply to get them out of their way, then "not file a complaint" and call it a day.

If there are grounds for charging her, then charge her. If there are not, then what the officer did is potentially criminal.

This reminds me of the New Orleans cops who arrested the football official.

But discretion in charging is an important part of policework.  It happens all the time.  Police come upon the scene of what appears to be a crime.  They arrest the person who appears to be committing a crime.  Then they investigate further only to determine that no crime was in fact being committed.

And there are consequences.  There are police complaint procedures in every jurisdiction.  In addition to that, a person can file a civil lawsuit.

There is a difference between an arrest made in good faith and one not made in good faith.

That is indeed a difference.

But it's a damn hard difference to prove.

[Berkut]

Even if, as Beebs is saying, "resisting arrest" really means "doing something to interfere with a police officers duties", it is STILL stunningly stupid.

[Jacob]

Okay, having watched the video I think it's pretty hard to apply Beeb's resisting arrest scenario. It seems pretty clear that the arrest was being made in bad faith.

[Capetan Mihali]

One interesting thing is that if there were any legit charge to be filed for that conduct (hypothetically, since a lawyer is certainly entitled to terminate the "voluntary contact" encounter between the police and her client), it would be "obstruction of justice" rather than "resisting arrest." 

But resisting arrest (w/o violence) is generally a misdemeanor, while obstruction of justice tends to be a pretty serious felony that they might not have felt quite empowered enough to pursue...

[garbon]

One interesting thing is that if there were any legit charge to be filed for that conduct (hypothetically, since a lawyer is certainly entitled to terminate the "voluntary contact" encounter between the police and her client), it would be "obstruction of justice" rather than "resisting arrest." 

But resisting arrest (w/o violence) is generally a misdemeanor, while obstruction of justice tends to be a pretty serious felony that they might not have felt quite empowered enough to pursue...

Net says obstruction of justice can be charged as misdemeanor in California.

[Capetan Mihali]

In the five or six states where I've either practiced in or spent a fair amount of time in the criminal courts (especially the lower-level/misdemeanor courts where there is a division), "Resisting Arrest" is a very common charge, and IME the statutes are pretty clear that it criminalizes resisting or impeding your *own* arrest.  Interfering in someone else's arrest is usually treated much more harshly... an obstruction charge, as mentioned above, or accessory after the fact, aiding and abetting, etc.

EDIT:  Not that these kind of charges are necessarily serious felonies everywhere (some states have ones specifically tailored to this kind of situation, like "interference in a lawful arrest" or "hindering a peace officer in the performance of his/her duties"), just that resist charges are only ever brought against the individuals getting arrested.

[Capetan Mihali]

I bet she used the "Do you know who I am??" defense.

  Yeah, that goes a long way when you're a public defender.  We end up getting held in contempt and locked up in the holding cells for a few hours with some regularity, you know.

[Eddie Teach]

We end up getting held in contempt and locked up in the holding cells for a few hours with some regularity, you know.

For realz?

[The Brain]

In the five or six states where I've either practiced in or spent a fair amount of time in the criminal courts

I'd like to hear from posters with similar level of experience. Ide?

[Barrister]

From my limited experience, arresting defence lawyers in the course of doing their job invariably blows up.  The lawyer just gets more publicity and notoriety, and is usually emboldened to do whatever they were doing.

[Warspite]

Can't watch the video as am at work but does 'Obstructing a Police Officer' not exist in the US as a charge?

[Capetan Mihali]

We end up getting held in contempt and locked up in the holding cells for a few hours with some regularity, you know.

For realz?

Not each of us, obviously.  But lower-court judges are like the absolute monarchs of their courtrooms -- some enlightened and some less so -- and when they unleash their megalomania, it is usually on the public defenders (private defense attorneys being pretty scarce and prosecutors rarely feeling their wrath). 

Things have been mostly mellow here, but down south I had a colleague who got handcuffed by court officers and dragged out of one courtroom to be brought over to another one, on orders from the judge, when he (the public defender) was scheduled to be in two courtrooms at the same time.

EDIT:  Being held in contempt, as a general matter, is much more common and doesn't always result in any arrest, it could be a fine or even a stern talking-to.  On the other hand, it could be a real jail sentence like 30 or 90 days.  And judges pretty much have the unchecked ability to find people in contempt within their own courtrooms if they supposedly witnessed an act of contempt taking place in front of them.