California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Wilkins, 14 Cal.App.4th 761, 17 Cal.Rptr.2d 743 (Cal. App. 1993):
[14 Cal.App.4th 778] In People v. Gonzalez, supra, 51 Cal.3d 1179, 275 Cal.Rptr. 729, 800 P.2d 1159, the court indicated lawfulness of the arrest is an element of a resisting arrest offense which normally must be submitted to the jury. "California cases hold that although the court, not the jury, usually decides whether police action was supported by legal cause, disputed facts bearing on the issue of legal cause must be submitted to the jury considering an engaged-in-duty element, since the lawfulness of the [officer] victim's conduct forms a part of the corpus delicti of the offense. [Citations.]" (At p. 1217, 275 Cal.Rptr. 729, 800 P.2d 1159.) If, however, the arrest is pursuant to a warrant, it is lawful as a matter of law and hence the issue of lawfulness need not be submitted to the jury. (At p. 1218, 275 Cal.Rptr. 729, 800 P.2d 1159.)
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