Fulton County Disorderly Conduct Lawyer

Disorderly conduct is one of the unique criminal offenses in the State of Georgia where the Georgia legislature allows both state law and city/county ordinance violations for similar conduct. Fulton County police officers have the option to charge conduct that would be a crime under state law as a city ordinance violation. Charging a criminal offense as a county ordinance violation instead of a state law disorderly conduct charge may impact constitutional rights like the right to a trial by jury, the right to assistance of counsel, and other fundamental rights one would have if they were charge under the state law disorderly conduct statute.

The Georgia Disorderly Conduct Statute

The state law disorderly conduct statute is a misdemeanor criminal offense under Georgia law. It is codified in O.C.G.A. 16-11-39:

“One commits the offense of disorderly conduct when one:

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

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

3. Without provocation, uses to or of another person in such other person's presence, opprobrious or abusive words which by their very utterance tend to incite to an immediate breach of the peace, that is to say, words which as a matter of common knowledge and under ordinary circumstances will, when used to or of another person in such other person's presence, naturally tend to provoke violent resentment, that is, words commonly called "fighting words"; or

4. 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.”

O.C.G.A. 16-11-39 also allows municipalities to enact their own city ordinance disorderly conduct violations within their city limits by the last part of the code section: “This Code section shall not be deemed or construed to affect or limit the powers of counties or municipal corporations to adopt ordinances or resolutions prohibiting disorderly conduct within their respective limits.”

Fulton County Disorderly Conduct County Ordinance Violations

Fulton County has their own version of the disorderly conduct statute. It is very similar to the state law disorderly conduct statute but if charged under the county ordinance statute, one is not charged with a misdemeanor criminal offense under Georgia law. The conduct is a county ordinance violation and because of that has different reporting requirements for your Georgia criminal history. Some criminal ordinance violations for disorderly conduct do not end in arrest. Therefore, when you are charged with disorderly conduct it is important to understand the impact it may or may not have on your criminal history. Some Fulton County disorderly conduct ordinance violations will not appear on your Georgia criminal history. Others, especially if you are arrested, will appear on your Georgia criminal record. The only way to be certain if your Fulton County disorderly conduct charge is on your criminal history is to order a copy of your Georgia criminal history (GCIC) at any law enforcement agency or sheriff’s office in the State.

Fulton County disorderly conduct violations are prosecuted in the Fulton County State Court located at 185 Central Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. They are often charged as violations of city ordinance section 46-136 Disorderly Conduct. Occasionally other types of crimes such as possession of a controlled substance including marijuana or theft by shoplifting may also be prosecuted under the county ordinance disorderly conduct statute.

If you have questions about a Fulton county disorderly conduct citation or criminal charge and would like a free consultation, please contact me by phone or text at 678-753-6431 or click the Contact button at the top of this page to contact me by e-mail.