A criminal defense attorney in Broward County helps explain the rights that criminal defendants have.  After retaining the services of a criminal defense attorney in Broward County, a criminal defendant can learn about his or her rights, the crime for which he or she is being accused and plausible defenses that may be raised.

Types of Obstruction of Justice Charges

Florida has many criminal offenses that are considered obstruction of justice charges.  Some common crimes under this heading include:

• Falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer
• Tampering with evidence
• Tampering with a  witness
• Harassing a witness
• Perjury
• Resisting an officer with or without violence
• Disobeying a law enforcement officer
• Accessory after the fact

Defenses to Obstruction Charges

One common strategy that a criminal defense attorney may employ is to look carefully at the statute regarding the offense charged.  This statute contains what are called the legal elements of the crime.  The prosecutor has the burden of proving each legal element by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  These statutes may include specific language that a criminal defense attorney can use to your advantage.  For example, some crimes include mental states, such as willful, purposeful, knowing or intentional.  If the criminal defendant did not know something, this is a plausible defense.  For example, if the defendant did not know that something was evidence of a crime, he or she may not be convicted of such a crime.

Specific defenses may also apply to the case.  For example, for a person to be convicted of tampering with evidence there must be some overt action taken to destroy the evidence or alter it.  Self-defense may be a defense to certain crimes.