Georgia Disorderly Conduct Lawyer

State Law vs. City Ordinance Disorderly Conduct

State Law

As you can read in the language of the Georgia state law disorderly conduct statute, disorderly conduct can encompass many different actions. Tumultuous is defined as loud, excited, emotional. This means you don’t have to act in a violent manner to be charged with disorderly conduct. Being loud, being obnoxious, making people uncomfortable in an excited manner to the extent that people are worried about what might happen to them is enough for a disorderly conduct charge. Also, there doesn’t have to be a fear of injury. The statute is written as a fear of safety of the person or fear of safety of their property. Further, the statute includes two additional actions “fighting words” and vulgar and obscene language witnessed by someone under 14 that are also disorderly conduct offenses.

Fighting Words

Fighting words are known as abusive words or phrases that are directed at another and by their very utterance inflict injury or provoke an immediate violent reaction. This type of language is not protected under our constitutional right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment. Fighting words can be the sole cause for a conviction of disorderly conduct. The United States Supreme Court recognizes fighting words as words that “produce a clear and present danger of a serious intolerable evil that rises above mere inconvenience or annoyance.” Their reasoning that fighting words are not protected speech under the first amendment was formed in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 US 568 (1942), “There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which have never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and the obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or “fighting” words–those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. … [S]uch utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.”

Obscene and Vulgar or Profane Language under 14

A person commits the offense of disorderly conduct when they without provocation, uses obscene and vulgar or profane language in the presence of or by telephone to a person under the age of 14 years which threatens an immediate breach of the peace. Georgia case law has recognized this sort of language as disorderly conduct when, “under circumstances and manner in which such utterance was made, it would clearly offend a reasonable person's sense of decency.” Woodward v. Gray, 241 Ga. App. 847, (2000).

City Ordinance Disorderly Conduct Violations

City ordinance disorderly conduct violations are different from the state law misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. City ordinance violations are not reported on Georgia criminal histories the same way as state law violations. City ordinance violations may or may not be reported to a criminal history after arrest. If they are reported, they generally do not list the specific offense, and just mention a city ordinance violation. However, it is important to remember that any time you are arrested it is essential to understand what your criminal history looks like, so you know what is and is not being seen if a background check is run.

I most frequently see city ordinance disorderly conduct violations in the municipalities around the metro Atlanta area. The City of Atlanta has two disorderly conduct code sections, a general disorderly conduct statute and a disorderly conduct under the influence statute. These are common citations when officers respond to the bars of downtown, east Atlanta, Buckhead, and Midtown. Those offenses are City of Atlanta Municipal Code 10-9, Disorderly Conduct While under the Influence and Code Section 106-81, Disorderly Conduct:

City of Atlanta Municipal Code Section 10-9

It shall be unlawful for any person within the corporate limits of the city to be disorderly while under the influence on the streets, sidewalks or other public places. The following acts are declared to be in violation of this section:

1. Any person who acts in a reckless manner so as to create an unreasonable risk of harm to himself, to other persons or to property in the vicinity while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

2. Any person who shall defecate or urinate on the streets or sidewalks or in the halls or elevators of public or commercial buildings, or on any property open to public view in the city while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

3. Any person who, without provocation, uses to or of another, in such person's presence, fighting words, or who shall panhandle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

4. Any person who shall act in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another so as to endanger the life, limb, health or property of another while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

5. Any person who shall lie down or otherwise obstruct, block or impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic on any sidewalk, street, or entrance or exit to any other public way, house of worship, business, public hall, theater, public conveyance or other public place and who shall refuse to remove themselves when ordered to do so by a city police officer or other lawful authority while under influence of alcohol or drugs.

6. Any person who shall act in a boisterous, turbulent, or agitated manner, or who shall use profane, vulgar, loud or unbecoming language while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs while on the streets, sidewalks, or other public places within the corporate limits of the city.

City of Atlanta Municipal Code Section 106-81

It shall be unlawful for any person within the corporate limits of the city to engage in any conduct described in the following subsections; provided, however, that no person shall be convicted of any of the following sections upon a showing that the predominant intent of such conduct was to exercise a constitutional right to:

1. Act in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another whereby any person is placed in fear of the safety of such person's life, limb or health;

2. Act in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another whereby the property of any person is placed in danger of being damaged or destroyed;

3. Cause, provoke or engage in any fight, brawl or riotous conduct so as to endanger the life, limb, health or property of another;

4. Assemble or congregate with another or others for the purpose of, or with the intent to, engage in gaming;

5. Be in or about any place, alone or with another or others, with the purpose of or intent to engage in any fraudulent scheme, trick or device to obtain any money or valuable thing; or to aid or abet any person or persons in doing so;

6. Direct fighting words toward another, that is, words which by their very nature tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace;

7. Interfere, by acts of physical obstruction, another's pursuit of a lawful occupation;

8. Congregate with another or others in or on any public way so as to halt the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and to fail to clear that public way after being ordered to do so by a city police officer or other lawful authority;

9. Stand or remain in or about any street, sidewalk, overpass or public way so as to impede the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and to fail to clear such street, sidewalk, overpass or public way after being ordered to do so by a police officer or other lawful authority;

10. Disrupt by actions which tend to incite a breach of the peace the undisturbed activities of any house of worship, hospital, surgi-center, or home for the elderly; or

11. Throw bottles, paper, cans, glass, sticks, stones, missiles or any other debris on public property.

Sandy Springs also has their own disorderly conduct city ordinance violations that they use often. It is very similar to the city of Atlanta disorderly conduct state but adds language involving alcohol and illegal drugs. Sandy Springs officers will often write city ordinance violations for simple possession of controlled substance charges instead of charging the equivalent state law misdemeanor or felony charge.

Sandy Springs Municipal Code Section 38-54

The following acts, among others, are declared to be disorderly conduct:

1. Act in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another whereby any person is placed in fear of the safety of such person's life limb or health;

2. Act in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another whereby the property of any person is placed in danger of being damaged or destroyed;

3. Cause, provoke or engage in any fight, brawl or riotous conduct so as to endanger the life, limb, health or property of another;

4. Assemble or congregate with another or others for the purpose of gaming;

5. Be in or about any place, alone or with others, with the purpose of or intent to engage in any fraudulent scheme, trick or device to obtain any money or valuable thing' or to aid or abet any person doing so;

6. Be in or about any place where gaming or illegal sale or possession of alcoholic beverages or narcotics or dangerous drugs are practiced, allowed or tolerated, for the purpose of or intent to engage in gaming or the purchase, use, possession or consumption of such illegal drugs, narcotics or alcohol;

7. Direct fighting words toward another, that is, words which by their very nature tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace;

8. Interfere, by acts of physical obstruction, with another's pursuit of a lawful occupation;

9. Congregate with another or others in or on any public way so as to halt the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and to fail to clear that public way after being ordered to do so by a city police officer or other lawful authority;

10. Stand or remain in or about any street, sidewalk, overpass, or public way so as to impede the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and to fail to clear such street, sidewalk, overpass or public way after being ordered to do so by a police officer or other lawful authority;

11. Disrupt by actions which tend to cause an immediate breach of the peace the undisturbed activities of any house of worship, hospital, or home for the elderly; or

12. Throw bottles, paper, cans, glass sticks, stones, missiles, or any other debris on public property.

The cities of Atlanta and Sandy Springs are two of the many municipalities in the metro Atlanta area that have their own disorderly conduct municipal code sections. These city ordinance violations are different than state law violations in that they do not afford a person a right to a jury trial. There are legal arguments that say if the same conduct is a state law criminal offense you have the right to a jury trial regardless of whether the conduct is charged as a city ordinance violation instead of a state law violation.