Durham v. State

Hugh Patrick Durham appeals his conviction for resisting an officer with violence and touching, striking, or causing bodily harm to a police dog in violation of sections 843.01 and 843.19(3), Florida Statutes (2013). He challenges the resisting charge on grounds that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that the police were in the lawful execution of a legal duty, an essential element of the crime in this case, because they had unlawfully entered his home at the time he resisted the officer.1 See, e.g., Espiet v. State, 797 So.2d 598, 602 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (reversing…