State v. Hamilton4/5/2004
ctions in citizen-police confrontations and to sort out police behavior which is lawful and proper from that which is not. E.g., Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146, 92 S. Ct. 1921, 1923, 32 L. Ed. 2d 612, 617 (1972); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 20-27, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 1879-1883, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 905-909 (1968); State in Interest of H.B., 75 N.J. 243, 248 (1977) (stop-and-frisk cases); State v. Washington, 57 N.J. 151, 155-159 (1970); State v. Moriarty, 133 N.J. Super. 563, 573-575 (App. Div. 1975), certif. den, 68 N.J. 172 (1975) (resisting arrest cases). Judge Goldmann observed that"... he duty of police officers,..., is'not merely to arrest offenders, but to protect persons from threatened wrong and to prevent disorder. In the performance of their duties they may give reasonable directions'". State v. Taylor, supra, 38 N.J. Super. at 30, quoting from People v. Nixon, 248 N.Y. 182, 188, 161 N.E. 464, 466 (Ct. App. 1928) and People v. Galpern, 259 N.Y. 279, 181 N.E. 572 (Ct. App. 1932); accord, State v. Manning, supra, 146 N.J. Super. at 596, 370 A.2d 499. The average citizen is, likewise, held to a similar standard and deemed capable of differentiating between permissible and impermissible behavior. Reasonableness is the key. Hence, where an officer's instructions are obviously reasonable, in furtherance of his duties, an individual toward whom such instructions are directed has a correlative duty to obey them. State v. Taylor, supra. If his refusal to respond results in an obstruction of the performance of the officer's proper tasks, this will constitute a violation of the disorderly persons statute.
[Lashinsky, supra, 81 N.J. at 10-11.]
Relying on Lashinsky, we stated in Brennan:
Simply stated, if the police are performing a law enforcement function in an appropriate manner, i.e., not with an excessive use of force, then a citizen is obligated to comply with the directions of the police. Failure to do so can result in a number of offenses, including... defiant trespass.
[Brennan, supra, 344 N.J. Super. at 143; accord State v. Taylor, 38 N.J. Super. 6 (App. Div. 1955).]
As a matter of law, we see no unique qualities of a public roadway that would preclude prosecution for defiant trespass if the facts otherwise warrant such a charge.
Defendants' convictions are affirmed.
Page 1 2 3 4 New Jersey DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|