SLOPE DAY! DISORDERLY CONDUCT charges & How they work!
If you live in Ithaca or go to Cornell or Ithaca College, you know how big a party SLOPE DAY has become.
With college parties comes drinking...to excess.
So I will talk about a very common charge for students who attend SLOPE DAY....DISORDERLY CONDUCT.
Disorderly Conduct
(a violation level offense in NY)
NYS Penal Law s. 240.20
A person is guilty of
disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a
risk thereof:
1. He engages in fighting or in violent,
tumultuous or threatening behavior; or
2. He makes unreasonable noise; or
3. In a public place, he uses abusive or
obscene language, or makes an obscene gesture; or
4. Without lawful authority, he disturbs any
lawful assembly or meeting of persons; or
5. He obstructs vehicular or pedestrian
traffic; or
6. He congregates with other persons in a
public place and refuses to comply with a lawful order of the police to
disperse; or
7. He creates a hazardous or physically
offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose. Disorderly conduct is a violation.
I see this charge for college kids a
lot! The police use this violation as
their favorite thing to charge students with then they “mouth off” to the
police on a street outside a house party.
IT IS VERY EASY FOR THE POLICE TO CHARGE THIS CRIME. THEN, YOU HAVE TO DEFEND IT.
For the prosecutor to be successful at
trial, they must prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the alleged conduct happened in a public place, and that the conduct
caused public annoyance (or any
other factors listed above).
PENALTIES:
- $0-$250 fines
- up to 15 days in jail (not uncommon for charges that happen on SLOPE DAY)
- $120 surcharge in City Court /
$125 surcharge in Town Court
- 1 year Conditional Discharge (no new arrests)
SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!?
The big deal is this...you're about to head off for the summer and you all of sudden have to do community service or serve jail time, pay fines, go to court, all while dealing with finals, or graduation, or applying to summer jobs.
Also, the record of the arrest is public record. Even if the crime is eventually dismissed, there could be professional repercussions for an Ivy league student looking to land a big time job--where they will do a thorough background check...
DisCon charges are no picnic, but you can get a good outcome if you know the prosecutor and the court.
BY: Attorney Mike Cyr
P: 607-229-5184
E: mike.ithacadwi@gmail.com
www.ithacadwi.com
www.facebook.com/ithacadwi
Twitter: @ithacadwi
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