GETTING YOUR DISORDERLY CONDUCT CHARGE DISMISSED AND KEPT PRIVATE

Disorderly Conduct is codified under the New York Penal Section Law 240.20. It is an extremely frequently charged violation in NYC. Did one of New York’s Finest hand you a pink summons charging you with a violation of New York Penal Law 240.20 (disorderly conduct), directing you to appear at NYC criminal court at 346 Broadway, 314 West 54th Street, 161st Street in the Bronx or 120-55 Queens Boulevard?

If it happened to you, you are not alone. Disorderly conduct 240.20 is among the most commonly issued summonses for NYC Criminal Court. Believe it or not, ordinary people get charged with disorderly conduct in New York City for innocent behavior such as standing in the street trying to hail a cab, arguing with friends loudly, cutting in line, going the wrong way on an escalator, talking back to cops, and even double parking. It has been mayoral policy since Giuliani to crack down on crimes that impinge on everyone’s so-called quality of life.

New York's Disorderly Conduct statue under New York Penal Law has 7 different subsections (see below) which cast a wide net over what amounts to a lot of insignificant behavior. While disorderly conduct is a "Violation" and not a "Crime" under the New York Penal Law, the maximum penalty is 15 days at Rikers Island and a fine of a few hundred dollars.

In reality, jail time is extremely unlikely and the typical worst-case scenario is a fine of anywhere from $50 to $200 and/or a day of community service. Many people can get their disorderly conduct cases immediately dismissed or they can get an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal) which will provide for an automatic dismissal in 6 months.

Most people charged with disorderly conduct are not worried about the fine as much as the prospect of having the charge becoming a permanent public record. In fact, unless the charge is dismissed or you are granted an ACD, it will indeed become a permanent public record.

Call me at (917)830-5296 if you would like to discuss whether you can get your disorderly conduct charge dismissed. 

The New York PL 240.20 Disorderly Conduct Statute states that a violation of New York Penal Law 240.20 occurs when:

"a person, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof: engages in one or more of the following activities:

1. Fighting or engaging in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior; (Very common to see this one charged around the bars at 3am)

2. Making unreasonable noise;

3. Using abusive or obscene language, or making obscene gesture in a public place; (luckily this section is often dismissed as a first amendment violation)

4. Disturbing any lawful assembly or meeting of persons without lawful authority;

5. Obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic; (this includes standing in one place on the sidewalk or double parking)

6. Congregating with other persons in a public place and refuses to comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse;

7. Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose. (this section is the catchall for disorderly conduct)

The NYPD charge people with disorderly conduct for all sorts of minor transgressions, including--believe it or not-- traffic related violations such as double parking or going through a stop sign. The NYPD also will issue a summons for Disorderly Conduct when people are just arguing loudly in the street, roughhousing, not following NYPD orders to "move along" or just talking back to cops (questioning the NYPD’s authority is an easy way to get a 240.20 summons).

If you have received a summons for disorderly conduct, and are waiting to go to court, have a lawyer experienced with disorderly conduct cases obtain and review the court copy of the summons from the clerk of court. The court copy of the summons has more information than the pink copy of the summons that was handed to you by the officer. The court copy has a section where the officer who issued the summons writes what he or she saw that gave rise to the summons for disorderly conduct. This is the real factual section of the summons.

This fact section of the summons is what the judge will look at when you go to court and you are called to the podium.  The judge will often look at the summons and either dismiss, issue an ACD or give you the choice of a fine or trial; all within about 60 seconds! Things move very quickly and if you need to get the summons dismissed or apply for an ACD you should bring a lawyer with you to court who is experienced with the intricacies of how the courts work. Make sure that the lawyer has reviewed the summons prior to court, as this will maximize your odds of getting the case dismissed.

IT IS CRITICAL TO HAVE AN ATTORNEY REVIEW THE FACT SECTION OF THE SUMMONS PRIOR TO THE COURT APPEARANCE.

Remember that the goal is to get the Judicial Hearing Officer (JHO) to dismiss or grant an ACD for the summons on the first court appearance. That will ensure that the charge will no longer be a public record available to background checkers, etc. The best way for the JHO to dismiss the case is if the summons is facially insufficient. Without proper review of the fact section of the summons before court there is less chance for your attorney to make a compelling motion to dismiss on grounds of facial insufficiency. Since the JHO is looking at about 400 of these tickets every day, it is the lawyer's job to point out the insufficient nature of the allegations and move for a dismissal on those grounds.

A lawyer highly experienced with these disorderly conduct summons should be able to review the fact section of a disorderly conduct summons and determine whether a compelling argument can be made for a dismissal based on facial insufficiency. Feel free to call me at (917)830-5296 if you want me to review the allegations in your summons.  (These allegations are available in the filed court copy of the summons). There is no obligation for me to pick up a copy of your summons at the court and review it with you. If you would prefer, fill out the form here, or contact me by email at Jessehk.Law@gmail.com. Be sure to enclose your name, the ticket number and your court date.