Disorderly Conduct Offenses

 Posted on October 29, 2018 in Disorderly conduct

Disorderly conduct, 720 ILCS 5/26-1, may sound like a harmless offense—one that will result in nothing more than a few days of community service at the worst, but in reality, it can be a life-altering moment in a person’s life. Depending on the circumstances, disorderly conduct is a felony. Being found guilty could mean the end of your career, your social status within your community, your child custody or visitation rights, and more: your freedom. Disorderly conduct can result in one to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

What Were You Charged For?

The most common scenarios of a defendant being charged with disorderly conduct include the following:

• Being drunk in public—While it is not a crime in and of itself to walk down the street or sit in a bar while being intoxicated, acting in an overtly drunk, loud, obnoxious, or harassing manner is a crime. All it takes is a few too many drinks and a lapse in judgment to end up behind bars for the night, with a disorderly conduct charge looming in your future.
• Yelling loudly late at night or early in the morning—Disturbing the peace by yelling or making unnecessary loud noises late at night or early in the morning is a serious crime, believe it or not. While you may have had a perfectly good reason to yell, either out of self-defense or surprise, or your loud yelling was largely exaggerated by the accuser, you still need an attorney to ensure that you are not given a criminal record.
• Being at a protest—Sadly, all it takes these days to be arrested at a protest is simply being there at the protest. You do not have to be inciting a riot, blocking machinery or traffic, damaging property, yelling, or even refusing to disperse in order to be charged with various crimes at a protest or demonstration. To be sure, 575 people were recently arrested at a Women’s March, as reported by The New York Times. Unnecessary or unlawful arrests at protests happen every day, and disorderly conduct is a common charge. Furthermore, police do not have to have your permission to search you by patting you down and do not have to have very much, if any, evidence to make an arrest. While such an arrest is not legal, it is commonplace.

Other Forms of Disorderly Conduct

• Entering a dwelling for lewd purposes as a “peeping Tom;”
• Calling 911 unnecessarily;
• Public misconduct;
• Falsely reporting a bomb, crime, or child abuse; and
• Inciting a riot.

Our Disorderly Conduct Defense Attorneys Can Help

If you have been arrested for disorderly conduct, you need to reach out to a Rolling Meadows criminal defense attorney immediately. Contact the Law Offices of Christopher M. Cosley today at 847-394-3200.

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/29/us/politics/womens-march-arrests-dc.html