In Connecticut, one of the easiest arrests for police to make is disorderly conduct. Disorderly conduct is codified under CGS 53a-182 and is one of the lowest level misdemeanors and perhaps the most frequently charged crime in Connecticut. No matter how minor the incident may have been, domestic disorderly conduct can still tarnish your record and lead to long-term consequences.
Why are the top criminal lawyers in Connecticut seeing so many disorderly conduct arrests in domestic violence courts? It is due to a combination of the unfair overbreadth of the Connecticut disorderly conduct statute, coupled with law enforcement’s tendency to be overly cautious in making arrests to pass the domestic issue to the courthouse to fix. If you have been charged with disorderly conduct in a domestic situation, call a Connecticut domestic disorderly conduct lawyer. A top CT attorney could fight against your domestic disorderly conduct charges.
How broad is Connecticut’s disorderly conduct statute? The law states that disorderly conduct in Connecticut could include:
Annoy, alarm, and inconvenience are broad, ambiguous terms that can easily be subjectively interpreted and enforced by Connecticut police officers. The ambiguity outlined in Conn. Gen. Statutes Sec. 53a – 182 allows the pendulum of police and prosecutorial discretion way too far in favor of law enforcement.
How do people get arrested for domestic disorderly conduct? Individuals get arrested in 1 of 2 ways:
When someone gets arrested in Connecticut for causing “alarm, inconvenience, or annoyance” to another person, it’s clear that there is not a very high burden of proof for police and prosecutors to effect the arrest.
Getting arrested is one thing, but getting convicted and having a permanent criminal record requires much more proof. A top Connecticut domestic disorderly conduct attorney could help fight to get the arrest dismissed quickly and affordably.
How do you get your domestic disorderly conduct charge dismissed? Our experienced Connecticut domestic disorderly conduct attorneys have success getting arrests dismissed with 3 different defense strategies:
In spite of the unfairness of the arrest itself, the playing field levels a bit once you get to court. Prosecutors, not the police, are now in charge. And often prosecutors are interested in distinguishing the high risk cases that need court supervision and monitoring from the low-risk cases that don’t need to linger and clog up the court system.
A domestic disorderly conduct arrest may feel like a minor charge, but once you’ve appeared at your Connecticut domestic violence court arraignment or sat in any courtroom, you can quickly see how a minor charge can balloon into a bigger problem, especially if state prosecutors want to keep your case alive for 12 months for longer. So if you’ve been arrested in Connecticut for Disorderly Conduct / C.G.S. 53a-182, contact a Connecticut domestic disorderly conduct lawyer at Mark Sherman Law today. For more background on our firm, you can read our Avvo.com-certified former client reviews. We are available 24/7 at (203) 358-4700.