When Can You Be Charged with Disturbing the Peace Under California Law?

The broadly written law gives the police a surprising amount of power to charge this crime.

When Can You Be Charged with Disturbing the Peace Under California Law?

Imagine that you’re at a bar, joking around with your friends, when suddenly, another patron gets angry because a member of your group has bumped into them. Words are exchanged, and you find yourself challenging the other patron to a fight — before you realize how ridiculous this all is, and walk away. You can’t be charged with a crime for that, can you?

Although it may seem impossible, you can actually be charged with a violation of California’s disturbing the peace statute just for challenging someone to a fight. According to a seasoned Orange Country criminal defense attorney, disturbing the peace occurs when someone conducts himself or herself in an aggressively disruptive manner. This typically includes fighting or making excessive noise. Under the statute, the prosecutor does not have to prove that you actually DID anything, like threw a punch, to show that you disturbed the peace. Words are enough to qualify, in certain circumstances.

As an Orange Country criminal defense attorney can explain, the public use of offensive words that are “inherently likely” to incite or provoke immediate violence is considered disturbing the peace under California law. However, the prosecution must provide context for what was said and how it was said, because every American has a First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The state has to show that your words — in context — had a clear and present danger of provoking immediate violence.

Consider the example above. If you laughingly said to the other patron at the bar, “What, do you want me to hit you or something,” that would probably not be sufficient to provoke immediate violence. But imagine that what you said was something along the lines of, “I’m going to kill you!” In that situation, the prosecution might have a better chance of proving that you were disturbing the peace.

In most cases, disturbing the peace is charged as an infraction, although, as an experienced Orange Country criminal defense attorney can explain, it may be charged as a misdemeanor in some circumstances. For example, if it occurs on the grounds of a public school, it will be charged as a misdemeanor. The penalty for an infraction is a $250 fine, and no jail time. A misdemeanor infraction is punishable by a fine of up to $400 and/or a sentence of up to 90 days in county jail.

If you have been charged with disturbing the peace or any related criminal offense, you will need a skilled attorney to represent you. The Chambers Law Firm aggressively defends clients against all criminal charges, including those related to disturbing the peace. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation with an Orange Country criminal defense attorney.

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