Building a Defense in Connecticut Disorderly Conduct Cases
Building a defense in Connecticut disorderly conduct cases may take a little effort, but it can help avoid many long-term adverse effects. Let a top defense attorney help shoulder the burden of crafting a strategy.
What Should I Understand About My Charge?
The first steps toward building a disorderly conduct defense in Connecticut involve gathering information and making inquiries about the circumstances leading to your arrest. Both you and a defense attorney need to understand the charges, the reason for the charges, and the details of the law involved before an effective defense can be mounted.
How Can Reviewing the Circumstances Help in Court?
Disorderly conduct can be charged in many different situations. It is a good idea to seek out police records, logs, notes, and dispatch records for information about the incident leading to the arrest to understand exactly why you were arrested. Records of 911 calls and witness statements can also be tremendously helpful. It is critical to review accounts to look for aspects that correspond as well as discrepancies.
A disorderly conduct lawyer or other individual working to build the defense can file motions to collect and preserve valuable evidence. Doing so can lead to a gap in the prosecutions efforts for a conviction and allow you to utilize your constitutional rights to have a case dismissed.
How Is Disorderly Conduct Defined by Connecticut?
The state disorderly conduct statute codified at Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) §53a-182 describes seven different types of behavior that may be treated as a violation. An individual may be convicted of disorderly conduct in Connecticut for:
- Engaging in violent behavior or fighting
- Annoying or interfering with others through offensive or disorderly actions
- Making unreasonable noise
- Disturbing lawful assemblies
- Obstructing traffic
- Congregating with others and refusing to disperse when ordered to
- Trespassing and watching others without their consent
Although charges are frequently issued in connection with domestic violence cases, the statute allows police to charge disorderly conduct in a wide array of circumstances.
What If I Did Not Mean to Cause Trouble?
The disorderly conduct statute specifies that to be found guilty, the person accused must act “with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm,” or must recklessly create the risk of causing such alarm, annoyance, or inconvenience. To build a defense to disorderly conduct charges in Connecticut, it can be helpful to collect evidence to show that no such intent or recklessness existed.
It may be possible to locate witnesses, text messages, or other sources that could explain the reasons for an individual’s actions. This evidence could support a claim that the individual’s state of mind did not meet the requirements for a violation.
Help Building a Defense in Connecticut Disorderly Conduct Cases
The best approach when building a defense in Connecticut disorderly conduct cases is usually to take advantage of all strategies available in the particular situation. An attorney who regularly handles disorderly conduct cases can help you to understand and utilize those strategies. Let an attorney at Mark Sherman Law help you today.