Walk It Through: The Sidewalk
Protective custody, resisting by force or risk of injury, and the line between felony and misdemeanor.
After a concert, a person who has had too much to drink is sitting on the sidewalk outside a bar when an officer walks over.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One night and one sidewalk. The phone call, the coordination test, and the arrest itself are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Protective custodyHelp an officer may give a person incapacitated by alcohol, with or without consent, to their home, a treatment facility or a police station. A person taken to a station has the right to ask for a breath test.
- Resisting arrestKnowingly preventing or trying to prevent a police officer acting under color of official authority from arresting oneself or another, by using or threatening force, or by means creating a substantial risk of bodily injury.
- FelonyA crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison; all other crimes are misdemeanors.