Resisting Arrest (PC 148(a)(1)):
California Penal Code 148(a)(1) describes the crime most commonly referred to as “resisting arrest.” In California, “resisting arrest” law prohibits you from willfully obstructing, delaying or resisting a law enforcement officer or emergency medical technician (EMT) while he/she is performing his/her duties.
Penalties (PC 148):
Resisting arrest in California is a misdemeanor. You can receive up to 1 year in county jail and/or a maximum $1,000 fine.
Legal Defenses (PC 148):
Having a Penal Code 148 PC conviction on your record could turn any future encounter with a police officer into a negative one. Potential legal defenses to resisting arrest charges include (but are not limited to): you were acting in self-defense, you were falsely accused and/or your arrest was wrongful and/or the police were engaged in police misconduct.
142. (a) Any peace officer who has the authority to receive or
arrest a person charged with a criminal offense and willfully refuses
to receive or arrest that person shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the sheriff may determine
whether any jail, institution, or facility under his or her direction
shall be designated as a reception, holding, or confinement
facility, or shall be used for several of those purposes, and may
designate the class of prisoners for which any facility shall be
used.
(c) This section shall not apply to arrests made pursuant to
Section 837.
145. Every public officer or other person, having arrested any
person upon a criminal charge, who willfully delays to take such
person before a magistrate having jurisdiction, to take his
examination, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
145.5. (a) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), notwithstanding any law to
the contrary, no agency of the State of California, no political
subdivision of this state, no employee of an agency, or a political
subdivision, of this state acting in his or her official capacity,
and no member of the California National Guard on official state duty
shall knowingly aid an agency of the armed forces of the United
States in any investigation, prosecution, or detention of a person
within California pursuant to (A) Sections 1021 and 1022 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA), (B)
the federal law known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force
(Public Law 107-40), enacted in 2001, or (C) any other federal law,
if the state agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of
the California National Guard would violate the United States
Constitution, the California Constitution, or any law of this state
by providing that aid.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to participation by state or
local law enforcement or the California National Guard in a joint
task force, partnership, or other similar cooperative agreement with
federal law enforcement if that joint task force, partnership, or
similar cooperative agreement is not for the purpose of
investigating, prosecuting, or detaining any person pursuant to (A)
Sections 1021 and 1022 of the NDAA, (B) the federal law known as the
Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), enacted
in 2001, or (C) any other federal law, if the state agency, political
subdivision, employee, or member of the California National Guard
would violate the United States Constitution, the California
Constitution, or any law of this state by providing that aid.
(b) It is the policy of this state to refuse to provide material
support for or to participate in any way with the implementation
within this state of any federal law that purports to authorize
indefinite detention of a person within California. Notwithstanding
any other law, no local law enforcement agency or local or municipal
government, or the employee of that agency or government acting in
his or her official capacity, shall knowingly use state funds or
funds allocated by the state to local entities on or after January 1,
2013, in whole or in part, to engage in any activity that aids an
agency of the armed forces of the United States in the detention of
any person within California for purposes of implementing Sections
1021 and 1022 of the NDAA or the federal law known as the
Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), enacted
in 2001, if that activity would violate the United States
Constitution, the California Constitution, or any law of this state.