[Vol.108:388 NOTE TYPES OF ACTIVITY ENCOMPASSED BY THE OFFENSE OF OBSTRUCTING A PUBLIC OFFICER INTRODUCTION The vast majority of jurisdictions in this country make criminal the act of obstructing a public officer. 1 The statutes establishing the offense can...
More
[Vol.108:388 NOTE TYPES OF ACTIVITY ENCOMPASSED BY THE OFFENSE OF OBSTRUCTING A PUBLIC OFFICER INTRODUCTION The vast majority of jurisdictions in this country make criminal the act of obstructing a public officer. 1 The statutes establishing the offense can be broken down into two major categories :2 the first punishing only interference with the functions of a public official engaged in serving process, 3 the second broadly penalizing one who "resists, delays, or obstructs a public officer in discharging, or attempting to discharge, a duty of his office . . . . 4 Thus, on the face of the acts, a person who interferes with a police officer directing traffic would be subject to conviction under the second type of statute but not under the first.5 Various operative words are used in these general obstruction statutes of the several jurisdictions. The most common is "obstruct," but typical phrasing in statutes of the first category also includes "oppose or resist," 6 "obstruct or resist,"
Less
