MARK CAINES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Mark Caines appealed his conviction for obstructing a law enforcement officer after pleading nolo contendere and reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss. The court affirmed, holding that giving a false name and address to police during the investigation and arrest process constitutes obstruction of an officer in the lawful execution of his duties under section 843.02.
The court held that giving false identification to an officer during the investigation and processing of an arrest constitutes obstruction of the officer's lawful duties under section 843.02. The statute has a broad sweep that covers not just resisting arrest but any obstruction of or opposition to an officer in the lawful execution of legal duty.
[1] Giving a false name and address to a law enforcement officer investigating a crime can constitute obstruction or opposition of an officer without violence under section 8…
[2] A law enforcement officer is engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty when investigating a crime and processing an arrest.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Whoever shall obstruct or oppose any such officer ... in the lawful execution of any legal duty, without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree....”
The statutory language of section 843.02 showing the broad scope of the obstruction charge beyond merely resisting arrest.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn November 30, 1984, Caines was arrested for Grand Theft Auto. When arrested, he falsely identified himself as Michael E. Williams, an acquaintance, …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Obstructing Or Opposing An Officer Without Violence cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHEB, Judge.
Defendant Mark Caines pled nolo conten-dere to charges of obstructing or opposing an officer without violence and loitering and prowling. He reserved the right to appeal the trial court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the obstruction charge. The trial court adjudged Caines guilty of each charge and sentenced him to the time he had served in the county jail. This appeal ensued.
The gravamen of the state’s information on the obstruction count was that Caines violated section 843.02, Florida Statutes (1985), by knowingly obstructing a law enforcement officer who was investigating a crime without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer, to-wit: “by giving a false name and address...”
Defendant filed a motion to dismiss under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190(c)(4) alleging that the giving of a false name and address to a police officer does not constitute a violation of section 843.02. The state demurred adding the following salient facts:
(1) On November 30, 1984, the Defendant, MARK CAINES, was arrested for Grand Theft Auto.
(2) MR. CAINES, at the time of his arrest lied about his name and date of birth and indicated he was Michael E. Williams, who is an acquaintance of his.
(3) He was booked in the Pinellas County Jail under that name and the State Attorney’s Office subsequently filed an information against the Defendant under the name of Michael E. Williams.
(4) The real Michael E. Williams received the Notices of Arraignment and pretrial conference in this case and appeared at the Criminal Courts Complex pursuant to those notices.
(5) The real Michael E. Williams identified the person arrested on November 30, 1985, as MARK CAINES, whom he knows.
(6) By the use of photographs, Officer D. Miller, Clearwater Police Department, confirmed that the real Michael E. Williams was not the individual responsible for this crime.
(7) On March 11, 1985, Judge Allbritton issued a capias in the amount of $25,-000.00 to procure the attendance of MARK CAINES at any future court proceedings involving this case.
(8) On March 7, 1985, the State Attorney’s Office amended the information filed originally in this cause to reflect the true name of the Defendant and add the additional charge of Obstructing or Opposing an Officer Without Violence.
Section 843.02, Florida Statutes (1985), provides: “Whoever shall obstruct or oppose any such officer ... in the lawful execution of any legal duty, without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree....”
The issue here is whether the defendant obstructed the officer in the performance of his duties within the meaning of the statute. Clearly, we think that the above factual scenario outlined in the pleadings in the Rule 3.190(c)(4) proceeding indicated he did. In pursuing a criminal investigation and in processing the defendant’s arrest, the officer was carrying out the duties of his office. It seems obvious to us that one who gives an officer false identification under the circumstances outlined is hindering the officer’s performance of those duties.
Defendant relies on Z.P. v. State, 440 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), as authority for reversal. In Z.P., the court stated that a juvenile’s act of giving a false name to an arresting officer, after the arrest, could not support a charge of resisting arrest without violence under section 843.02. The court, in dicta, questioned whether such an act would constitute a crime under the statute. We find Z.P. inapposite. While section 843.02, entitled “Resisting officer without violence to his person”, proscribes resisting arrest without violence, it has a much broader sweep. We think that the actions of the defendant were within the scope of the statute which makes it an offense to “obstruct or oppose any such officer ... in the lawful execution of any legal duty....”
Affirmed.
GRIMES, A.C.J., and FRANK, J„ concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
D.G. v. State, 661 So. 2d 75 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…ses holding that the use of mere words can be a violation of section 843.02 when a suspect provides false information to a police officer during a valid arrest or Terry1 stop. See Rumph v. State, 544 So. 2d 1150 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989); Caines v. State, 500 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). This rule, however, does not obligate a person to give his or her correct identity to an officer unless that person is legally detained. Steele v. State, 537 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). These cases, and other Florida cases,…
-
Steele v. State, 537 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)…tiary support to show any criminal investigation at the time the false name was given, no request for assistance by Steele's group, and no evidence that McDonald was impeded in his investigation in any way by the misinformation. Cf. Caines v. State, 500 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (giving of false name resulted in filing of information against, and court appearance of, wrong defendant). REVERSED. DAUKSCH and COWART, JJ., concur. . Section 843.02 provides: 843.02 Resisting officer without violence to his…
-
Rumph v. State, 544 So. 2d 1150 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)…agree with the second district that § 843.02 Florida Statutes1 has a much broader scope than merely resisting arrest. The statute also contemplates obstruction or opposition to any officer in the lawful execution of any legal duty. Caines v. State, 500 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). Clearly the giving of a false name obstructs the officer in the preparation of the arrest reports he is required to complete. We are, of course, aware of this court’s decision in Steele v. State, 537 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Z.P. v. State, 440 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)