Interference with Public Duties

From the Law Office of Alison Grinter in Dallas, Texas

1 Degree
2 Statute(s)
3 Caselaw
4 Collateral Consequences
5 Notes

Degree

Interference with Public duties is a class B misdemeanor

Statute(s)

§ 38.15. INTERFERENCE WITH PUBLIC DUTIES.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with:
    (1) a peace officer while the peace officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted by law;
    (2) a person who is employed to provide emergency medical services including the transportation of ill or injured persons while the person is performing that duty;
    (3) a fire fighter, while the fire fighter is fighting a fire or investigating the cause of a fire;
    (4) an animal under the supervision of a peace officer, corrections officer, or jailer, if the person knows the animal is being used for law enforcement, corrections, prison or jail security, or investigative purposes;
    (5) the transmission of a communication over a citizen's band radio channel, the purpose of which communication is to inform or inquire about an emergency;
    (6) an officer with responsibility for animal control in a county or municipality, while the officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted under Chapter 821 or 822, Health and Safety Code; or
    (7) a person who:
       (A) has responsibility for assessing, enacting, or enforcing public health, environmental, radiation, or safety measures for the state or a county or municipality;
       (B) is investigating a particular site as part of the person's responsibilities under Paragraph (A);
       (C) is acting in accordance with policies and procedures related to the safety and security of the site described by Paragraph (B); and
       (D) is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted under the Agriculture Code, Health and Safety Code, Occupations Code, or Water Code.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(1) that the conduct engaged in by the defendant was intended to warn a person operating a motor vehicle of the presence of a peace officer who was enforcing Subtitle C, Title 7, Transportation Code.
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the interruption, disruption, impediment, or interference alleged consisted of speech only.
(e) In this section, "emergency" means a condition or circumstance in which an individual is or is reasonably believed by the person transmitting the communication to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or in which property is or is reasonably believed by the person transmitting the communication to be in imminent danger of damage or destruction.

Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1162, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Renumbered from Penal Code § 38.16 by Acts 1990, 71st Leg., 6th
C.S., ch. 12, § 2(26), eff. Sept. 6, 1990. Renumbered from Penal
Code § 38.18 and amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, §
1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165,
§ 30.241, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1212, § 1, eff. September 1,
2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1251, § 1, eff. September
1, 2007.

Sec. 38.152. INTERFERENCE WITH RADIO FREQUENCY LICENSED TO GOVERNMENT ENTITY. (a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the law enforcement agency, fire department, or emergency medical services provider, the person intentionally interrupts, disrupts, impedes, jams, or otherwise interferes with a radio frequency that is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to a government entity and is used by the law enforcement agency, fire department, or emergency medical services provider.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if the actor committed the offense with the intent to:
(1) facilitate the commission of another offense; or
(2) interfere with the ability of a law enforcement agency, a fire department, or an emergency medical services provider to respond to an emergency.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Emergency" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.15.
(2) "Emergency medical services provider" has the meaning assigned by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Law enforcement agency" has the meaning assigned by Article 59.01, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(d) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1222, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.