Resistance and Disobedience Lawyer in Madrid
If you are being investigated for resistance to an officer or for serious disobedience to authority, following an identity check, a traffic stop or a court notification, you risk up to one year in prison or a fine, and above all a criminal record, which is usually the most lasting damage. Do not give a statement without a lawyer by your side. We will take the call ourselves. 24-hour line: 681 256 507.
Resistance and disobedience lawyer in Madrid, available 24 hours a day
In offences against authority, almost everything hinges on one thing: the legal classification. The line between assault, resistance, disobedience and a simple administrative infringement is very fine, and moving from one to another completely changes the outcome. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid, focused on criminal law, and we defend individuals accused of resistance or disobedience towards agents of authority and public officials. We handle it from start to finish ourselves, without passing you from one lawyer to another.
Offences against authority and public order that we defend in Madrid
These are the offences against authority and public order in which we take on your defense in Madrid, from a scuffle during an identity check to an incident at a demonstration. Each one has its own page and its own strategy.
Resistance to officers
Non-serious physical opposition to an agent of authority acting in the course of their duties (art. 556 CP). We fight to prevent it being reclassified as assault and, where possible, to have it reduced to an administrative infringement.
Serious disobedience
Seriously refusing to comply with a specific and lawful order from an authority or its agents. We argue over whether the order was clear and lawful, and whether your refusal really had the seriousness the offence requires.
The most serious level: when the police report claims there was an attack, aggression or serious intimidation against an officer. We work to prevent your case from reaching that point.
When the events take place at a demonstration or gathering and become mixed up with the collective disturbance of public order.
When to call a criminal defense lawyer specialising in resistance and disobedience
In these offences, the sooner you contact a lawyer, the greater your scope for defense. Call us if:
- You have just been detained following a stop or an identity check.
- You have been summoned to give a statement as a suspect over an incident with the police.
- You have received a court or administrative order and did not comply with it.
- You have been notified of a fast-track trial and need a defense for the coming days.
- There is body camera footage or video of the incident that you have not yet seen.
- You are also accused of damage, injuries or assault against authority.
- Your court-appointed lawyer is not responding and you need a criminal defense lawyer who will answer the phone.
24-hour assistance for resistance and disobedience offences
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Criminal defense lawyers with expertise in resistance and disobedience in Madrid
In a resistance or disobedience case, almost everything is decided at the classification and evidence stage. This is what we do differently:
We request the recordings from day one
We request the officers’ body cameras and any surrounding CCTV footage as soon as possible: the video often contradicts the police report and allows the charge to be reclassified or the case dismissed.
We fight to have it downgraded to an administrative offence
We work to ensure that what the police report calls a crime remains a simple administrative offence, without a criminal record.
One single lawyer, from start to finish
The person who answers your call is the same person who represents you at the hearing. We don’t pass you from one lawyer to another.
Non bis in idem: we coordinate with the fine
If you have already been fined under the Public Safety Law for the same facts, we invoke the non bis in idem principle to avoid double punishment.
What we do if you are arrested or summoned for resistance or disobedience to authority
These cases are almost always processed as a fast-track trial, so the deadlines are very short and the defence starts the same day. Whether you have been arrested or summoned, this is what we do with you from the very first call:
We answer your call.
We identify the court, the content of the police report and your procedural situation, and we activate the defence from that moment.
We give you the first guidance.
You have the right to remain silent and not to make a statement without your lawyer. We explain what is in your best interest before the appearance.
We go to the on-duty court.
A lawyer from the firm travels to the on-duty court, in Madrid city or in the Henares Corridor, and attends the first statement.
We request the recordings.
We request the officers’ body camera footage and surrounding CCTV recordings as soon as possible: what is seen does not always match the police report.
We prepare the fast-track trial.
We prepare the fast-track trial within a few days: video evidence, medical expert reports and witness testimony, and we decide together with you whether to accept a plea deal or go to trial.
We provide this assistance ourselves, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Madrid city, the Henares Corridor and throughout Spain.
What you are accused of in a crime of resistance and disobedience to authority
The crime of resistance and disobedience to authority (art. 556 CP) protects the ability of the authority, its agents and public officials to carry out their functions. It punishes two different types of conduct:
- Resistance: physically opposing, but not seriously, an agent acting legitimately. Serious resistance, involving significant violence, escalates to assault on authority.
- Serious disobedience: seriously refusing to comply with a specific and lawful order, such as a judicial summons or an instruction at a checkpoint.
Neither of these amounts to assault on authority, which requires an attack or serious intimidation, nor do they necessarily constitute a crime: often they are merely an administrative penalty under the Public Safety Law. Distinguishing between them is the first thing we work on.
Assault on authority, serious resistance or disobedience: how a crime against authority is classified
The same conduct against an officer of the authority can be classified in four very different ways, and this determines whether you end up facing prison, a criminal fine or a simple administrative sanction:
- Assault on an officer (Atentado): where there was a physical attack, aggression or serious intimidation against an officer. The most serious classification.
- Serious or non-serious resistance: physical opposition, without amounting to an assault.
- Serious disobedience offence: refusing to comply with an order, without physical opposition.
- Administrative infringement: a lack of respect or cooperation is sanctioned under the Citizen Security Law, with no criminal record.
Getting an assault charge reduced to resistance, or a resistance charge reduced to a fine, is the difference between prison and a record that leaves no trace.
How we defend a charge of resistance or disobedience to the authorities
When you are accused of resistance or disobedience to the authorities, the defense is won through the classification of the offence and the evidence. We work several lines at once:
- Challenging the classification. Ensuring it does not end up as assault on an officer and, where possible, reducing it to disobedience or an administrative infringement.
- Requesting the recordings. Officers’ body cameras, traffic or shop cameras and witness videos, which often undermine the police report.
- Attacking the police report. Contradictions, generic statements without detail, or officers’ medical reports with no objective injury.
- The legitimate exercise of official duties. If the identification, search or check was irregular, there is no offence against the authority.
- Mitigating factors and plea agreements. Proven reparation of harm, intoxication or altered state, and, where the evidence is clear, a plea agreement that reclassifies the offence as disobedience.
24-hour assistance if you are reported for resistance
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Prison sentences for resistance and disobedience and the effect on your criminal record
This is what you could be facing, depending on the classification:
- Serious resistance or disobedience: imprisonment from three months to one year, or a fine of six to eighteen months. In the lower range, suspension of the sentence is possible if you have no prior record.
- Assault on an officer: a higher prison sentence, with actual imprisonment more likely.
- Administrative infringement: only a fine, with no criminal record.
The real damage is usually the criminal record: any conviction, even if suspended, is entered on your record and can close the door to public examinations (oposiciones), professional licences (private security, driving, healthcare) and immigration procedures. Furthermore, if you have already been fined under the Citizen Security Law for the same conduct, the principle of non bis in idem prevents you from being sanctioned twice: we coordinate both proceedings to avoid a double penalty.
Defense in resistance and disobedience to the authority cases throughout the Community of Madrid
Cases involving resistance and disobedience to authority in Madrid are investigated and tried at the Plaza de Castilla Examining Courts, almost always through fast-track trials, and appeals are decided by the Provincial Court of Madrid. We also handle proceedings in the judicial districts of the Henares Corridor (Alcalá de Henares, Arganda del Rey, Coslada) and throughout the Community of Madrid, and we travel to the duty court to assist detainees. Our office at Goya 20 is a short walk from the main courts.
Your resistance and disobedience lawyer, privately retained, not court-appointed
In a resistance case, which is resolved in a fast-track trial with very short deadlines, a court-appointed lawyer covers the formalities but rarely has time to request the recordings and prepare the evidence. Choosing a specialist criminal defense lawyer in resistance and disobedience cases, privately retained, means that the same firm that studies your case is the one who answers your call, explains each step to you and attends the hearing with you. No intermediaries: we handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions about resistance and disobedience to authority
I argued with a police officer and was reported: is it a crime or a fine?
It depends on the facts. A lack of verbal respect or cooperation is usually an administrative offence under the Citizen Security Law, not a crime. For there to be a crime of resistance or disobedience, there must be non-serious physical opposition or serious disobedience of a specific order. Getting the matter reduced to an administrative penalty avoids a criminal record.
Will I go to prison for resistance to authority?
In the basic form of resistance, sentences usually fall within the lower bracket (from three months to one year) and allow for suspension of the sentence if you have no prior record. Actual imprisonment mainly arises if the facts are reclassified as assault on an officer (atentado) or if there is a repeat offence. That’s why the legal classification is the first battle.
There's a video from the officer's body camera: can I request it?
Yes, and it’s advisable to request them as soon as possible. We formally request access to recordings from officers’ body cameras, surrounding CCTV cameras and witness videos. The recording is often the evidence that leads to reclassification of the offence or opens the door to dismissal of the case.
Will I have a criminal record if I'm convicted of resistance?
Yes. Any criminal conviction results in a criminal record, even if the sentence is suspended. A record for resistance can close off job competitions, licences (private security, professional driving) and immigration processes. That is why we fight for reclassification or, when there is room, acquittal.
I was fined under the Citizen Security Law and I'm also being summoned: is that legal?
Not automatically. The principle of non bis in idem prevents the same facts from being punished twice. If the administrative fine under the Citizen Security Law becomes final before the criminal judgment, it can be invoked to avoid the conviction; if the criminal judgment comes first, the administrative penalty lapses. The two proceedings need to be coordinated.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Cervantes & García-Escribano Law Office
Book an initial consultation or call us directly. We see clients at Goya 20, by phone and by videoconference, with the confidentiality proper to professional practice.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM (assistance to detainees 24/7)
Call a lawyer for resistance and disobedience to authority in Madrid
A case for resistance or disobedience to authority is won or lost in the first hours: the classification under discussion, the recordings requested and the account fixed in the first statement. And since it almost always proceeds by fast-track trial, the deadlines are very tight. The sooner you call a lawyer specialising in resistance and disobedience offences, the more room we have to work with. We assist clients in Madrid and throughout Spain. Call us on 681 256 507.
