CONTENTS
- 1. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Summary of the incident
- - judgment of the lower court
- 2. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Supreme Court decision
- - Principle of voluntary investigation and limitations of compulsory investigation
- - Illegal arrest that effectively amounts to a forced investigation
- - Illegality of urine collection request
- - Denial of establishment of obstruction of official duties
- 3. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Criteria for establishing obstruction of official duties
- - Legality standards for investigation and execution of official duties
- - Significance of the Judgment
- 4. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Practical response strategy
- - Daeryun's assistance
1. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Summary of the incident
Let’s take a look at the summary of this case with the obstruction of official duties lawyer.
The defendant in this case was with an acquaintance at a hotel and moved to the room at the request of police officers. Later, the person accompanying him was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and became the subject of investigation along with him.
The police officers handcuffed the defendant, searched his body, and continuously asked him to take a urine test to check for drug use.
In response to this, the defendant refused to be tested and eventuallyHe submitted another inmate's urine as his own, and this action became problematic, so he was indicted for obstruction of official duties.It is done.
judgment of the lower court
The lower court found that the police officers' request to collect urine was a lawful performance of their duties.
in other wordsGiven that the urine submitted by the defendant was false, it was determined that the defendant interfered with the police's drug investigation work through deception, and the establishment of the crime of obstruction of official duties by fraud was recognized.I did it.
The lower court relatively broadly recognized the legality of the act, especially on the basis that the request for urine collection was made as part of the investigation.
2. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Supreme Court decision
The gist of the Supreme Court’s judgment, as seen by an obstruction of official duties lawyer, is as follows.
Principle of voluntary investigation and limitations of compulsory investigation
Based on Article 199 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the Supreme Court ruled that in principle, investigations should be conducted on a voluntary basis and that compulsory dispositions are permitted only under strict conditions.
Especially in the case of voluntary accompaniment, it is not a formal consent.Arbitrariness should be judged based on whether the suspect was actually able to freely refuse or leave.I saw it.
Illegal arrest that effectively amounts to a forced investigation
The Supreme Court noted the following:
- A body search was conducted while handcuffed.
- Control continued within hotel rooms for a significant period of time.
- Repeated requests for urine tests
Taking these circumstances into consideration, the defendant must be considered to have been placed in a state similar to arrest, and it was determined that this was highly likely to constitute an illegal compulsory disposition without a warrant.
Illegality of urine collection request
The Supreme Court believed that requests for urine collection should not be viewed individually, but should be evaluated as a whole series of processes: “illegal arrest → investigation progress → request for urine collection.”
in result,A request to collect urine made while under illegal arrest should also be considered an illegal performance of official duties.It was decided that
Denial of establishment of obstruction of official duties
The Supreme Court reaffirmed the existing legal principle that the crime of obstruction of official duties must be premised on the lawful performance of public officials' duties.
thusConsidering that the crime of obstruction of official duties based on an illegal urine collection request cannot be established, the original judgment was reversed and the case was remanded.I did it.
3. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Criteria for establishing obstruction of official duties
The criteria for establishing the crime of obstruction of official duties are summarized as follows.
For the crime of obstruction of official duties, the mere existence of official duties is not sufficient; the act must have been lawfully performed based on legal authority.
At this time, the judgment of legality must be made objectively and rationally based on the specific situation at the time, not based on the existence of formal authority.
In particular, if the investigation process exceeds the limits of arbitrary investigation and in fact constitutes a compulsory disposition, the entire investigative activity that follows may be evaluated as an illegal execution of official duties, and the crime of obstruction of official duties based on this premise does not constitute a crime.
Legality standards for investigation and execution of official duties
The Criminal Procedure Act stipulates that, in principle, investigations must be voluntary investigations and that compulsory dispositions are permitted only to the minimum extent necessary based on the law.
alsoThe crime of obstruction of official duties presupposes that the public official's duties are lawful, and the mere fact that they fall within the scope of the public official's duties is not enough; the specific methods and procedures must also be legal.do.
Significance of the Judgment
This ruling is significant in that it strictly interprets “the legality of the execution of official duties,” which is the most essential element in establishing the crime of obstruction of official duties.
especiallyEven if the investigative agency takes the form of a voluntary investigation, in reality, if it is coercive, the entire investigation process may be evaluated as illegal, and the establishment of a crime based on this may also be denied.The point has been clarified.
This is expected to serve as a standard for demanding stricter control over a series of investigative procedures such as urine collection requests, arbitrary escorts, and body searches conducted in drug investigations in the future.
4. Obstruction of official duties lawyer | Practical response strategy
In a case of obstruction of official duties, the key is to closely review the legality of the execution of official duties, which is the premise of the act.
In particular, the conclusion of the entire case may vary depending on whether the accompanying, arrest, search, and inspection requests made in the early stages of the investigation were made in accordance with legal procedures.
Therefore, in a case of obstruction of official duties,Establish a defense strategy by comprehensively reviewing the arbitrary investigation, whether compulsory disposition is applicable, the legality of arrest and search, and the continuity of the investigation process with an obstruction of official duties attorney.You have to do it.
Daeryun's assistance
In cases of obstruction of official duties, if procedures such as accompanying, arresting, searching, and requesting prosecutors during the investigation are conducted illegally, this may have a significant impact on all subsequent investigation results and indictments.
Daeryun, the 9th largest law firm in Korea (based on 25 years of value-added tax reporting to the National Tax Service)Obstruction of official duties lawyers analyze the entire investigation process from the initial stage of the case and comprehensively review the boundary between voluntary and forced investigation, the legality of arrest and search, and whether the evidence collection process is illegal.do.
Through this, we accurately identify areas that do not meet the requirements for obstruction of official duties and design a legal response strategy that can overturn the entire case.
especiallyIn cases where prosecution is based on an illegal investigation, the establishment of a strategy at the initial response stage determines the outcome.do.
If you need assistance from an obstruction of justice attorney in a related matter, please contact our firm and request assistance.
