Obstruction of Justice charges can be filed in some of the following ways:
(1) Resisting or Obstructing a Police Officer; (2) Fleeing and Eluding Police; (3) Witness Intimidation; and (4) Obstruction of Justice. All of these charges are taken very seriously by prosecutors and judges because they view such actions as an affront to their authority.
In most cases, obstruction charges are brought against an individual that didn't know he/she was committing a crime. It's a difficult charge to face because the perpetrator is often simply trying to protect someone from further harm or protect their own rights. I rarely see such charges where an individual set out to intentionally deceive or obstruct justice. Typically, people just fall into it by mistake or because a police officer wants to assert their authority and violate individual rights.
Not to say that there are not bad people attempting to obstruct justice, but they are few and far between. Many people convicted of such a crime simply cannot afford a solid legal defense, thereby empowering prosecutors to charge more people with such crimes when there is little evidence of a crime. When facing an Obstruction of Justice charge of any form, it is vital that your attorney works hard to defend your individual rights and keep police authority in its proper place. That is my goal in every Obstruction of Justice case.