New Orleans is home to Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, and Jazz Fest. We host a variety of national sporting events and welcome over a million tourists each year for Mardi Gras. New Orleans knows how to throw a party, but in all the excitement, locals and visitors can sometimes get a little out of hand and find themselves charged with disturbing the peace. So what exactly is considered disturbing the peace in New Orleans, and what should you do if you’re charged with it?
New Orleans is home to Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, and Jazz Fest. We host a variety of national sporting events and welcome over a million tourists each year for Mardi Gras. New Orleans knows how to throw a party, but in all the excitement, locals and visitors can sometimes get a little out of hand and find themselves charged with disturbing the peace. So what exactly is considered disturbing the peace in New Orleans, and what should you do if you’re charged with it?
Disorderly conduct, often called “disturbing the peace” under Louisiana law, can mean a variety of things. What they all have in common is that they involve conduct that is likely to distress, anger, or disturb other people or public tranquility and order. The most common reason police officers arrest someone on a disturbing the peace charge in New Orleans is public intoxication. This could quite simply be showing signs of overt public drunkenness during unreasonable hours of the day. Other forms of disturbing the peace include:
Disturbing the peace is considered a misdemeanor. If you are charged with disturbing the peace in New Orleans or a nearby parish, you will either receive a summons to appear in court or you could be arrested and brought to jail. In either case, you will be assigned an arraignment date to appear in court.
You must enlist the help of a New Orleans attorney for your charges—one who is familiar with the Louisiana criminal court system and can help you protect your rights. The Law Office of Lance J. Robinson is here to explain your options and provide you with expert legal representation today.
Disorderly conduct, often called “disturbing the peace” under Louisiana law, can mean a variety of things. What they all have in common is that they involve conduct that is likely to distress, anger, or disturb other people or public tranquility and order. The most common reason police officers arrest someone on a disturbing the peace charge in New Orleans is public intoxication. This could quite simply be showing signs of overt public drunkenness during unreasonable hours of the day. Other forms of disturbing the peace include:
Disturbing the peace is considered a misdemeanor. If you are charged with disturbing the peace in New Orleans or a nearby parish, you will either receive a summons to appear in court or you could be arrested and brought to jail. In either case, you will be assigned an arraignment date to appear in court.
You must enlist the help of a New Orleans attorney for your charges—one who is familiar with the Louisiana criminal court system and can help you protect your rights. The Law Office of Lance J. Robinson is here to explain your options and provide you with expert legal representation today.
The Law Firm of Lance J. Robinson has over 22 years of experience defending clients charged with disturbing peace in New Orleans and nearby parishes. How can we help you?
I had a difficult case which three different attorneys all turned down stating it would be too difficult to win. I ran into Lance soon after and talked to him about the case. He agreed to represent me and was very optimistic about our chances of winning. It was an injury case against a very large and powerful company. Lance did a super job representing me and the result was better than anything I could have imagined. He is an excellent attorney as well as a wonderful person. Very professional and personable. If ever a family member or friend needs a personal injury attorney, he is the only one I will send them to. Don’t feel anyone could have represented me better than Lance did.
Posted by:
Michael Peifer
The Law Firm of Lance J. Robinson has over 22 years of experience defending clients charged with disturbing peace in New Orleans and nearby parishes. How can we help you?
When you retain Lance J. Robinson as your chosen disturbing the peace defense attorney to tackle these charges, our law firm will commit to helping you every step of the way.
To start, we will represent your interests at the first court date, where your appearance may not be required. In court, we will locate your case and either plead guilty or not guilty. We will then obtain a copy of the paperwork for your disturbing the peace charges.
Within this paperwork, there will be a narrative of the facts surrounding your charges, including the police officer’s name and badge number, as well as any witnesses to your incident. We go through your version of events and compare it to the paperwork, see if it constitutes disturbing the peace charges and use our years of experience to identify any inconsistencies or errors that could lead to a dismissal of your charges or reduced penalties.
For the state to prove its case, the prosecution must establish that (a) your conduct was on purpose or (b) you were acting with malicious intent. It’s not enough to be annoying—there must be evidence that your actions could incite public disorder or violence and see why it was considered disturbing the peace in the first place.
Often, the evidence used in a disturbing the peace case is the police officer’s observations. Of course, this relies heavily on subjective thoughts and feelings. As your attorney for New Orleans disturbing the peace charges, we can also initiate interviews with eyewitnesses to determine if your actions truly fit under the label of “disrupting the peace.”
The next court appearance will be set up for trial. Your appearance may not be required at this court date either. We will appear for you and negotiate with the city attorney concerning your case. At the Law Office of Lance J. Robinson, we do everything we can to make this process as easy as possible for you, while working in your best interests to get your charges reduced or dropped. If the matter cannot be resolved adequately, then we will continue the trial date and prepare for a strong defense at trial.
In most New Orleans disturbing the peace cases, we can settle in a satisfactory result for our clients. Based on the facts of your case, the result could be a dismissal of your case or a reduction of the charge with a minimal fine and court costs. No matter what the outcome is in court, under Louisiana law, we will help you expunge this charge off your public record.
In most New Orleans disturbing the peace cases, we can settle in a satisfactory result for our clients. Based on the facts of your case, the result could be a dismissal of your case or a reduction of the charge with a minimal fine and court costs. No matter what the outcome is in court, under Louisiana law, we will help you expunge this charge off your public record.
When you retain Lance J. Robinson as your chosen disturbing the peace defense attorney to tackle these charges, our law firm will commit to helping you every step of the way.
To start, we will represent your interests at the first court date, where your appearance may not be required. In court, we will locate your case and either plead guilty or not guilty. We will then obtain a copy of the paperwork for your disturbing the peace charges.
Within this paperwork, there will be a narrative of the facts surrounding your charges, including the police officer’s name and badge number, as well as any witnesses to your incident. We go through your version of events and compare it to the paperwork, see if it constitutes disturbing the peace charges and use our years of experience to identify any inconsistencies or errors that could lead to a dismissal of your charges or reduced penalties.
For the state to prove its case, the prosecution must establish that (a) your conduct was on purpose or (b) you were acting with malicious intent. It’s not enough to be annoying—there must be evidence that your actions could incite public disorder or violence and see why it was considered disturbing the peace in the first place.
Often, the evidence used in a disturbing the peace case is the police officer’s observations. Of course, this relies heavily on subjective thoughts and feelings. As your attorney for New Orleans disturbing the peace charges, we can also initiate interviews with eyewitnesses to determine if your actions truly fit under the label of “disrupting the peace.”
The next court appearance will be set up for trial. Your appearance may not be required at this court date either. We will appear for you and negotiate with the city attorney concerning your case. At the Law Office of Lance J. Robinson, we do everything we can to make this process as easy as possible for you, while working in your best interests to get your charges reduced or dropped. If the matter cannot be resolved adequately, then we will continue the trial date and prepare for a strong defense at trial.
In most New Orleans disturbing the peace cases, we can settle in a satisfactory result for our clients. Based on the facts of your case, the result could be a dismissal of your case or a reduction of the charge with a minimal fine and court costs. No matter what the outcome is in court, under Louisiana law, we will help you expunge this charge off your public record.
Lance J. Robinson has defended over 2,400 clients in Municipal, Criminal, and Traffic Courts in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, and other Louisiana parishes. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn how the Law Office of Lance J. Robinson can become your New Orleans lawyer for disturbing the peace charges.
New Orleans might have a reputation for being a party city, but disturbing the peace is a crime—and like most crimes, receiving a conviction can have serious consequences. The penalties for disturbing the peace in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana are stated as follows:
But before you think you’ll be getting off easy, you should know that the penalties for disturbing the peace vary depending on the nature of the crime. Disturbing a funeral or burial, for example, can lead to larger fines and longer imprisonment. Some offenders are sent to jail, while others may have to deal with a fine, counseling, community service, or probation.
You could receive the following penalties if arrested for these common disturbing the peace crimes:
To achieve the best outcome for your case, you should hire a knowledgeable, experienced criminal defense attorney to represent you.
No matter the level of the crime, the arrest will remain on your criminal record long after the incident is over. This can restrict your ability to obtain certain jobs, gain admission to certain schools, and even rent an apartment or home. When you hire Lance J. Robinson as your New Orleans lawyer for disturbing the peace charges, we work with you to expunge the arrest from your record so you can move on with your life without consequent penalties for your actions.
New Orleans might have a reputation for being a party city, but disturbing the peace is a crime—and like most crimes, receiving a conviction can have serious consequences. The penalties for disturbing the peace in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana are stated as follows:
But before you think you’ll be getting off easy, you should know that the penalties for disturbing the peace vary depending on the nature of the crime. Disturbing a funeral or burial, for example, can lead to larger fines and longer imprisonment. Some offenders are sent to jail, while others may have to deal with a fine, counseling, community service, or probation.
You could receive the following penalties if arrested for these common disturbing the peace crimes:
To achieve the best outcome for your case, you should hire a knowledgeable, experienced criminal defense attorney to represent you.
No matter the level of the crime, the arrest will remain on your criminal record long after the incident is over. This can restrict your ability to obtain certain jobs, gain admission to certain schools, and even rent an apartment or home. When you hire Lance J. Robinson as your New Orleans lawyer for disturbing the peace charges, we work with you to expunge the arrest from your record so you can move on with your life without consequent penalties for your actions.