An individual may be faced with several penalties in Michigan if they are charged with “Disorderly Conduct”. When faced with the possibility of such serious penalties, having a skilled attorney to help you prepare and defend your case is necessary to obtain the best possible outcome.
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 163,874 people were with disorderly conduct in 2017.
Under Michigan law, MCL 750.167 all of the following are considered disorderly conduct:
- Peeping through windows;
- jostling or roughly crowding people unnecessarily in a public place;
- Refusing or neglecting to support your family;
- Prostitution;
- Loitering in a place where prostitution or lewdness is practiced, encouraged, or allowed;
- Engaging in indecent or obscene behavior in a public place;
- Engaging in an illegal occupation or business;
- Knowingly loitering in or around a place where an illegal occupation or business is being conducted;
- Being intoxicated in a public place and either endangering directly the safety of another person or property or is acting in a manner that causes a public disturbance;
- Begging in a public place or wondering place to place to beg; and/or
- Loitering in or around a police station, police headquarters building, county jail, hospital, court building, or other public building or place to solicit the employment of legal services or the services of sureties upon criminal recognizances.
Although these charges can be very serious, the courts have carved out several exemptions to this law, including:
- Reasonable free speech;
- Reasonable self-defense;
- A medical condition such as Tourette’s syndrome; or
- Being under great emotional distress caused by another person.
It is important to note that most disorderly conduct charges are because of or related to public intoxication. Sometimes a disorderly conduct charge that is related to intoxication is called a “Drunken Disorderly” charge.
The penalties for disorderly conduct can be found in the table below:
Type of Offense | Penalty | Michigan Law |
Disorderly Conduct | Misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both. | |
Disorderly Conduct at a Funeral | Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both. |
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Disorderly Conduct at a Funeral- 2nd or further offense | Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. |
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If you or someone you know is dealing with a disorderly conduct-related charge, it is imperative that you seek legal representation from a lawyer familiar with this area of law. Police and prosecutors will be working swiftly to build a compelling case against you. Finding a resolution that can keep someone’s criminal record clean and keep you out of jail may be available.
If you would like to set up a consultation to discuss your case further, please contact us or call (586) 413-7777 at your earliest convenience.