Criminal Lawyer Los Angeles – Disorderly Conduct
Disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace could be charged by the prosecutor as a misdemeanor or an infraction under California Penal Code 415. One could disturb the peace of the public by being extremely loud while swearing at people, challenging someone to fight in public, playing very loud music at home, or the conduct alike
Defenses to Disorderly Conduct
We could challenge this charge if there is insufficient evidence to raise the conduct to the level of a crime. Sometimes, we are able to reduce other crimes such as misdemeanor battery or assault to disturbing the peace as a misdemeanor or infraction. This usually occurs when the defendant has no criminal record and the alleged victim is not willing to press charges. Alternatively, we could reduce a misdemeanor violation of PC 415 to an infraction and close the case with payment of a small fine.
If the defendant has a lengthy criminal background and the conduct involved egregious conduct and the victim is willing to testify, the court could sentence the defendant to jailtime of up to 90 days and order him to pay a fine of up to $400. Even under these circumstances, we may be able to arrange a plea bargain which includes no jail time or fine.
