Offenses That Can Be Charged As Disorderly Conduct in Darien

An individual is guilty of disorderly conduct when they intend to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to someone else, and they engage in fighting, violent or threatening behavior, or any behavior that just annoys or interferes with another person. This charge is very broad because Connecticut lawmakers want to encompass any actions that could be dangerous or pose a threat to another person. Even if it is a really small act, Connecticut law gives the State the ability to prosecute any dangerous or threatening action to protect other people in public.

If you are seeking charges for disorderly conduct offenses in Darien, an experienced disorderly conduct lawyer can review your case and help you create an appropriate defense to protect your future.

Provocation of Violence

A person can be charged with disorderly conduct in Darien anytime they engage in a fight or any other type of violent behavior. If a person incites or provokes violence, even in their private home, that person can be charged with disorderly conduct. Typically, Darien police officers will receive a call and arrive at the private home to investigate the offense.

A possible defense is that the report received by police was discredited by other witness testimony. Another possible defense is that the person arrested for disorderly conduct was attempting to de-escalate the situation and was not engaging in violent behavior, or was defending themselves.

Elevation to Assault

Typically these charges arise when a person is caught trespassing on someone else’s property. Sometimes we see it when someone is deciding whether to commit another crime such as a burglary or when they are engaged in stalking. For example, if someone is walking through another person’s property, trying to decide if they are going to break into a home, they can be charged with disorderly conduct if they do not actually commit the burglary.

They usually arise when a person touches another person unnecessarily in a way that does not cause any injury – once an injury arises a person can be charged with to assault. A person can be charged with disorderly conduct offenses in Darien for intentionally annoying or interfering with another person to cause inconvenience. If a person is intentionally jostling or crowding another person, he or she can be charged with disorderly conduct. If a person touches another person, that can rise to assault.

If someone is engaging in disorderly conduct and involved in a violent altercation that results in someone being injured or harmed, that person can be charged with both disorderly conduct and assault. If a person only engages in a verbal altercation or creates loud noise, that person will not be charged with assault.

Offensive Language

Any sort of threatening behavior, including threatening speech or abusive or offensive language, is considered disorderly conduct. When two people engage in arguments within their homes, where offensive and abusive language is used or yelling in general, they can be charged with disorderly conduct offenses in Darien. If a person threatens to injure themselves, or even threaten to injure another person, they can also be charged with disorderly conduct.

Any threatening language can result in a disorderly conduct arrest. These charges usually arise when people get in fights in their private homes or when they get into bar fights. Another example can be road rage incidents, where aggressive or violent language is used.

Self Harm

Threatening to harm yourself can arise in a disorderly conduct charge. When a person threatens to harm themselves in a domestic incident, the other person involved with make a call to the Darien police department for fear of their own safety and the safety of the person threatening themselves.

A person can be charged with disorderly conduct offenses in Darien when they intentionally cause inconvenience or alarm to other people, and when they make unreasonable noise to do so. Unreasonable noise does not need to be made in a public place, it can be in a private home. There is a gray area of what is considered unreasonable and that is up for the police to determine. The police will determine whether noise is considered unreasonable while investigating a complaint.

Property Related Scenarios

Statutorily there is no time when loud noise is banned. The time of the loud noise comes into play when determining whether the noise is considered “reasonable.” If someone is speaking really loudly in a public and busy place and they are facing disorderly conduct offenses in Darien, the court may determine that their volume was not unreasonable, but if the noise was made in the middle of the night in a private home, it becomes less reasonable. There is no statutory timeframe; it depends on the situation.

A person can be charged with disorderly conduct in Darien if the person commits a simple trespass and observes another person, in anything other than a casual manner, without the knowledge or consent of the other person, or if the other person is inside of their home and not in plain view (or just anywhere where the other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy). A person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their home or vehicle, or anywhere where they would not expect to be watched.