Ala. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) 13A-10-132(F)

Falsely Asserting Authority of Law

The defendant is charged with falsely asserting authority of law.

A person commits the crime of falsely as serting authority of law if he/she falsely

asserts authority of law in an attempt to intimidate or hinder a state or local official or

employee or a law enforcement officer in the discharge of official duties, by means of

threats, harassment, physical abuse, or use of a sham legal process.

To convict, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following

elements:

(1) The defendant asserted authority of law falsely;

(2) The defendant did so in an attempt to intimidate or hinder a state or local

official or employee or a law enforcement officer in the discharge of official

duties [name];

(3) The defendant did so by means of threats, harassment, physical abuse, or

use of a sham legal process [describe]; (AND)

(4) The defendant acted [insert appropriate mens rea element - See Use

Notes].

[Read as appropriate] : A state or local official or employee is an appointed or

elected official or an employee of a state agency, board, commission, department, in a

branch of state government, institution of higher education, or other unit of government in

this state. [13A-10-132(a)(4)]

[Read as appropriate] : Government is the state, county, municipality, or other

political subdivision thereof, including public county and city boards of education, t he

youth services department district, the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, and all

educational institutions under the auspices of the State Board of Education. [13A -10-

1(2)]

[Read as appropriate]: A law enforcement officer is any public servant vested by

law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crime, whether that duty

extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. [13A-10-132(a)(1) & 13A-10-1(5)]

[Read as appropriate]: A public servant is any officer or employee of government,

including legislators and judges and any person or agency participating as an adviser,

consultant, or otherwise in performing a governmental function. [13A-10-1(7)]

[Read as appropriate]: A sham legal process is defined as the issuance, display,

delivery, distribution, reliance on as lawful authority, or other use of an instrument that is

not lawfully issued, whether or not the instrument is produced for inspection or actually

exists, which purports to be any one of the following [read as appropriate]:

a. A summons, subpoena, judgment, lien, arrest warrant, search warrant, or

other order of a court of this state, a peace officer, or a legislative, executive,

or administrative agency established by state law;

b. An assertion of jurisdiction or authority over or determination or adjudication

of the legal or equitable status, rights, duties, powers, or privileges of a

person or property; (OR)

c. A requirement or authorization for the search, seizure, indictmen t, arrest,

trial, or sentencing of a person or property. [13A-10-132(a)(3)]

[Read as appropriate]: To be lawfully issued is to be adopted, issued, or rendered

in accordance with the applicable statutes, rules, regulations, and ordinances of the

United States, a state, an agency, or a political subdivision of a state. [13A-10-132(a)(2)]

If you find from the evidence that the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt

each of the above elements of falsely asserting authority of law, then you shall find th e

defendant guilty of falsely asserting authority of law.

If you find that the State has failed to prove any one or more of the elements of

falsely asserting authority of law, then you cannot find the defendant guilty of falsely

asserting authority of law.

[If lesser-included offenses are included, the Court should instruct on those

offenses at this point.]