Question: Is it Illegal to Lie to a Cop?
Written by ITL Attorney, Posted in Constitutional Law
Answer:
First, keep in mind, that every state has its own statute or law that would govern such conduct. However, most states have some law on the books that addresses this type of conduct. Usually, it is in the form of some type of obstruction of justice charge or something related. For instance, in Minnesota where I practice, we have a statue entitled providing “false information to a police officer”. For instance, if an individual is pulled for a traffic violation and the officer asks the driver his or her name and the individual provides a false name, then the driver could be charged with a crime.
In Minnesota, it is a Misdemeanor if the name provided by the individual is a name that doesn’t really exist and a more serious level of Gross Misdemeanor if the driver actually gives the name of an actual person other than themselves.
