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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    1

    Default Obstructing an Officer

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Wisconsin

    Me and some of my friends were camping at a State Park and there was a little bit of alcohol. We are all underage, however I was not drinking at all and did not plan on it. A Park Ranger came by our campsite and asked if we had been drinking, and he obviously saw some bottles on the picnic table. My two friends had both had some shots, and one of them admitted to having alcohol and gave the cop his ID, verify that he was underage. My other friend did not have his ID on him. The Ranger left to grab the breathalyzer kit, and my friend who didn't have an ID got really nervous, thinking about how an underage would effect his future plans for financial aid. He thought that because it was only a park Ranger, that he did not have the right to hold him, so he ran off into the woods. I knew that he had some alcohol in him and I also knew that the terrain in the woods was not very pleasant, ranging from swamps, to cliffs that he could fall off of and die. So I decided to run after my friend to try to make sure that he would not accidentally kill himself. I chased after him for a long ways, somehow we did not fall off any of the cliffs. After a while we could see the city, and were very thirsty and dehydrated from running for so long. We went to a fast food restaurant and got a couple of waters. From there my friend calmed down and came to his senses. So we called my other friend, who was still at the campsite, to talk to the Park Ranger and get picked up so that we could finish the breathalyzer process. When the Park Ranger came to pick us up, he put us both in handcuffs and took us to the Juneau county police department. They took us both through the booking process and we both were given breathalyzers. I blew zeros of course, and my friend didn't of course.

    I was issued a citation for "Resisting or Obstructing an Officer" even though clearly I was not running from the Ranger/Cops because I had had nothing to drink. Rather I was chasing after my friend so that he would not get killed.
    I have no history of anything, no underage, no speeding tickets, no possession charges, no parking tickets....you get the point, NOTHING! The same goes for my friend who ran, no history. This is part of the reason he was so nervous and decided to run, and also why I will have many questions about this.

    My Questions:

    Do I have a good case and could I get the citation dropped?

    If I can't get the citation dropped, will it be on my permanent record, even though I am only 17?

    How much do obstructing an officer tickets cost?

    My friend's Citation does not say anything about an underage, even though he was positive on the breathalyzer. It just says the same as mine, "Obstructing an Officer." So my question is, will he be charged for the underage, and what can he truthfully tell the judge at the court date to get him in the smallest trouble possible?

    My friend is also only 17, if he get's an underage, will it stay on his permanent record?

    Thanks for the Help.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Midwest
    Posts
    87

    Default Re: Obstructing an Officer

    Typically for a crime to occur, you need two elements...mens rea and actus reas, latin terms for guilty mind and guilty act. You running from the Ranger was bad, but your motive and intent was not to evade questioning. Although, probably just as irresponsible, since it was dark and cliffs typically do not discriminate from who falls off of them or (drunks or none-drunks, all splat the same).

    Good case to get the citation dropped? They will not "drop" it, they will find you not responsible. A not responsible still reflects on your record, and the original citation will always be there. The act in and of itself is what is being fined here. You ran, you pay...unless the judge will find your mitigating circumstances profound. Totally and utterly up to the judge or magistrate.

    In some states (probably most), when an officer detains you, the act of "running" away could constitute a Resisting Arrest charge. I think the Ranger showed a kind eye on you and your friend. You both did "obstruct" him.

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