Fairfax Obstruction of Justice and Resisting Arrest Defense Attorney
Quick answer: Under Virginia Code § 18.2-460, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest are Class 1 misdemeanors — but each has a narrow element the Commonwealth often can’t prove. Resisting arrest requires fleeing, and the Court of Appeals has reversed convictions three separate times where the person struggled but never left the officer’s immediate reach. Obstruction requires direct action, not merely making an officer’s job harder, and running away alone isn’t enough. Attorney Sheryl Shane has more than 31 years of criminal defense experience. Call (703) 582-8119.
Five Different Offenses in One Statute
Section 18.2-460 is really five crimes in one, and which subsection is charged changes everything about the defense.
Subsection A — obstructing. Knowingly obstructing a judge, magistrate, juror, prosecutor, witness, law-enforcement officer, or animal control officer in their duties without just cause, or refusing to stop when asked. Class 1 misdemeanor.
Subsection B — intimidating by threats or force. Knowingly attempting to intimidate or impede those same people by threats or force. Class 1 misdemeanor.
Subsection C — the felony version. Threats of bodily harm or force, where the official’s duty relates to a drug distribution charge, a gang offense, or a violent felony listed in § 17.1-805. Class 5 felony.
Subsection D — lying to police. Knowingly and willfully making a materially false statement to an officer investigating a crime by another person. Class 1 misdemeanor.
Subsection E — resisting arrest. Intentionally preventing or attempting to prevent a lawful arrest. Class 1 misdemeanor. Added in 2018, when the separate resisting statute was repealed.
Resisting Arrest Requires Actual Flight
This is the most important thing on this page, and most people charged under subsection E have never heard it.
The statute defines resisting arrest as fleeing from an officer — either after the officer applies physical force, or after the officer says you’re under arrest, has the legal authority and the immediate physical ability to make it, and a reasonable person would know they aren’t free to leave.
Fleeing is an element, not a description. Three appellate decisions have reversed convictions on exactly that point:
- A conviction was reversed where the defendant clearly resisted and tried to avoid physical custody, but never fled — he remained continuously in close proximity to the arresting officer.
- Another was reversed where the testimony and video showed the defendant never moved outside the officers’ immediate span of control while resisting being handcuffed.
- A third was reversed in 2024 because the close-proximity requirement wasn’t met: there had been no physical contact before the arrest, and the arrest wasn’t instant.
Compare the cases that were upheld: a defendant who broke from the officer’s grasp, moved away, and would have traveled more than a few steps if the officer hadn’t grabbed his jacket; and a defendant who ran until he tripped. The line is movement away from the officer’s control, and it is a factual question worth fighting.
Obstruction Requires Direct Action
The courts have drawn firm limits on what obstruction means, and they matter in ordinary street encounters.
Making the officer’s job harder isn’t obstruction. The statute requires actual hindrance — opposition or resistance by direct action. Failing to cooperate fully, or conduct that merely frustrates an investigation, isn’t enough. A driver who gave shifting accounts after an accident wasn’t guilty, because his statements may have frustrated the officer but didn’t impede him.
Running away, by itself, isn’t obstruction. Evidence that a suspect ran from police, without more, is insufficient as a matter of law under subsection A. Convictions have been reversed on that basis, including one where the appellate court applied the ends-of-justice exception to reach the issue.
Peaceful criticism isn’t obstruction. The Fourth Circuit affirmed that officers lacked probable cause to arrest an attorney who advised an arrestee of his constitutional rights during an arrest and peacefully declined to leave. The right to criticize the police is recognized in Virginia.
Refusing to identify yourself isn’t obstruction. The Attorney General has opined that an officer conducting a lawful investigative stop may not arrest for obstruction under subsection A when the suspect refuses to identify himself.
Tensing up isn’t “force.” In 2024 the Court of Appeals reversed a subsection B conviction where the defendant tensed her arms and tried to hold onto her belongings during the arrest — that wasn’t force within the meaning of the statute.
What does cross the line: pushing off an officer during handcuffing, physically blocking a door, refusing to exit a vehicle and locking the doors, or threatening an officer with harm. The distinction is whether the officer was actually stopped from doing something, by direct action.
Lying to Police — Only About Someone Else
Subsection D reaches false statements to an officer conducting an investigation of a crime by another. The Court of Appeals has held it does not apply when the police are investigating you: a defendant who gave false statements about his own identity while officers looked into his own outstanding warrant did not violate the subsection, and a 2024 decision reversed on the same reasoning.
That is a real limit, but not a safe harbor — other statutes reach false identification, and separate charges can follow. For the related false-report statute, see my Fairfax false police report page.
The Felony Version Has a Narrow Trigger
Subsection C turns a misdemeanor into a Class 5 felony, but only when the official’s duty relates to specific offenses — drug distribution under § 18.2-248, gang crimes under §§ 18.2-46.2 or 18.2-46.3, or a violent felony listed in § 17.1-805.
The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed a felony conviction because the Commonwealth never proved the deputy was engaged in a duty relating to one of those listed offenses. Another felony conviction was reversed because none of the enumerated felonies was at issue at all. The Court of Appeals has also held the connection must be direct: threats made years later, after the underlying prosecution, didn’t qualify.
A felony charge under subsection C should always be checked against that list before anything else happens in the case.
Where These Cases Are Also Won
The arrest has to be lawful. A person who is illegally arrested may use a reasonable amount of force to repel it. Where officers mistakenly believed a woman was the person named in a capias, even in good faith, she had the right to resist. But this defense is narrow — it doesn’t apply where there was probable cause, and it doesn’t apply to an investigative detention that isn’t an arrest.
Intent. The focus is on the defendant’s intent to impede, not the officer’s state of mind. Where intent to obstruct can’t be proven, the charge fails — in one case the evidence showed intent to cause public annoyance, supporting disorderly conduct, but no intent to prevent the officer from performing her duties.
Venue. Obstruction must be prosecuted where the offense actually happened. A Norfolk court lacked venue where every element occurred in Virginia Beach.
Not a crime involving moral turpitude. The Fourth Circuit held in 2018 that a Virginia obstruction conviction is not a crime involving moral turpitude, because the statute doesn’t require morally reprehensible conduct. That matters for clients who are not U.S. citizens, though immigration questions should always be reviewed individually before any plea.
A Change Coming in 2027
The 2026 Special Session amended subsection C, but the new version does not take effect until July 1, 2027. Until then, the current subsection C governs, including its reference to the older drug-distribution provisions. Anyone comparing this page to a code book should check which version applies to the date of the offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is resisting arrest a felony in Virginia?
No. Resisting arrest under § 18.2-460(E) is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Only subsection C — threats of bodily harm or force connected to a drug, gang, or violent felony investigation — is a felony, and that connection has to be proven.
I struggled but I never ran. Can that be resisting arrest?
It shouldn’t be. The statute requires fleeing, and appellate courts have reversed convictions three times where the person resisted but stayed within the officer’s immediate reach. Whether you moved away from the officer’s control is the question, and it’s worth litigating.
Is running from the police obstruction of justice?
Not by itself. Virginia courts have held that evidence a suspect ran away, without more, is insufficient as a matter of law under subsection A. Obstruction requires direct action that actually impedes the officer.
I gave the police a false name. Is that a crime?
It can be, but often not under this statute. Subsection D applies only when the officer is investigating a crime by someone else — courts have twice reversed convictions where the person lied while police were investigating him. Other statutes reach false identification, so it is never a safe choice.
Can I resist if the arrest is unlawful?
Virginia law allows a person who is illegally arrested to use a reasonable amount of force to repel it, and close family members may resist an unlawful arrest as well. But the defense is narrow, and it does not apply where the officer had probable cause. Never rely on it in the moment — raise it afterward, through counsel.
This page is part of a broader cluster: for the full picture, see my false reports, perjury, and obstruction overview.
About the Attorney: Sheryl Shane
Sheryl Shane is a Virginia criminal defense attorney with more than 31 years of criminal defense experience, defending clients throughout Northern Virginia since 2000 in Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, Loudoun, and Alexandria. A former arbitration judge and Guardian ad Litem, she maintains a deliberately small practice and personally handles every case she takes — from the first consultation through final resolution. Her office is located just minutes from the Fairfax County Courthouse.
This page was written and reviewed by Attorney Sheryl Shane and reflects Virginia law current through the 2026 Special Session I. This is attorney advertising; past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.
Contact Sheryl Shane
Sheryl Shane
Virginia Criminal Attorney
Office Address
4015 Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone
(703) 582-8119
Serving clients throughout Fairfax County, Arlington County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Alexandria, and Northern Virginia.
This page provides general information about Virginia law and is not legal advice for any specific situation. Reading it, or contacting Virginia Criminal Attorney through this website, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and information sent before a formal engagement is established may not be treated as privileged or confidential.