You should definitely at least go ask a criminal attorney. Good luck getting it “reduced,” however, as there is not much that it could be reduced to. But the attorney will know the judge and know your chances, and probably be able to give you a quick idea of what to expect with little or no charge.
Even before seeking an attorney, however, you could walk in to the county attorney’s office with your citation in hand, and ask to talk to someone about it. You may immediately find someone who is willing to take care of it.
If you are not able to get it dropped, seek to get it expunged after you are convicted. Depending upon what state you are in, you can request an expungement which will wipe it from your record. This kind of BS charge is a perfect candidate for expungement.
Overall, I would not worry. Many people have minor misdemeanors. I know lots of lawyers who were accepted into the bar (which is a much, much higher standard of scrutiny than most job applications) with misdemeanors like this.
You can always talk to the prosecutor and see if they are willing to drop or reduce the charges. Lanky is right, be apologetic, and if they dont want to cooperate and drop or reduce it to an infraction then you can always tell them you would like to retain a lawyer to represent you and they will give you a few weeks in order to do that.
It doesnt seem like something they would be looking to throw the book at you over. If there wasnt an altercation, you should be ok. Stop doing boneheaded things, though.
Thanks all for the advice and rest-assured I will NEVER do something like this again. It is funny I have never been in so much as a verbal fight with anyone since high school and now at 30 I am dealing with this.
I called a local lawyer today and will go for a consulation. I will see what he has to say and hopefully this will not cost me a fortune and he will be able to help me not get a record.
Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor in NJ (where I live) . I have several and it’s never come up on my back ground checks. I work as a state employee in NJ. Still, get a lawyer and get that shit squashed if you can. You probably won’t have to do community service. If the charge sticks, you can get it expunged in 7 years for about $1,000.
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
DB297 wrote:
JLu wrote:
That cop is a fucking douchebag.
That is not the issue however. Right now I need to figure out how to keep this off my record…
That’s what you get for being a yankee fan.
I’m not a lawyer but a lot of times for smaller charges like this, the judge will have you do community service to have this expunged from your record.[/quote]
I got a public intoxication a couple of years ago. You go to your court date, and the judge will have you pay a fine, maybe take a class, and do some community service. This results in a deferred adjudication, which goes on the record as having the charge/case dismissed.
This is not the same thing as having it expunged. Your record will show that you did have the charge against you and that it was dropped. I was applying for jobs where even having a run-in with police was gonna hurt my chances. To get it expunged (where the whole thing is wiped from your record and you can ‘truthfully’ say that you never had any run-in with cops), is a long, drawn out process for which you will certainly need an attorney. I paid a friend who’s a lawyer a thousand bucks to cover his costs, and about four months later, it was all wiped away.
This is the case in Texas, I can’t say I’m an expert on it, but that was my experience with having charges wiped clean.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
DB297 wrote:
I’m not 100% sure job apps don’t ask about misdemeanors as well. If I plea guilty it would show up on all background checks from what I have read.
Dude misdemeanors you pay a fine or perform some obligation, go on probation for a month or two and it is erased from your record. I had a prior misdemeanor and had to supply a background check for my employer and it came up clean.[/quote]
Although they are not a huge deal, they don’t get erased from your record unless you pay a lawyer to get it expunged. In your case, they probably only checked for felonies. When I was consulting with an immigration lawyer to get my citizenship, all the misdemeanors were there and counted against me as moral turpitude.
And it’s a misdemeanor - aka small charge. Job applications usually don’t even ask if you have any misdemeanors, they only ask for felonies. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.[/quote]
Some don’t, some do. One of mine did and also asked if I’ve ever been arrested. Which I think is bullshit because you can get arrested for misdemeanors and you can also get arrested and have charges dropped since you’re innocent. Arrest records are harder to verify though because you have to actually got to the town you were arrested in to get a copy. I don’t believe there’s an actual centralized database where actual normal employers can check.
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS
§ 240.20 Disorderly conduct.
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause
public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk
thereof:
1. He engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening
behavior; or
2. He makes unreasonable noise; or
3. In a public place, he uses abusive or obscene language, or makes an
obscene gesture; or
4. Without lawful authority, he disturbs any lawful assembly or
meeting of persons; or
5. He obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
6. He congregates with other persons in a public place and refuses to
comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse; or
7. He creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act
which serves no legitimate purpose.
Disorderly conduct is a violation.
It looks like what you did does not constitute disorderly conduct. Between this, the report filed by the officer, and you just showing up you should be able to get the charges dropped. Hiring a lawyer should all but ensure you get it dropped, but probably isn’t necessary if it is cost prohibitive.
[quote]tedro wrote: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS
�§ 240.20 Disorderly conduct.
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause
public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk
thereof:
1. He engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening
behavior; or
2. He makes unreasonable noise; or
3. In a public place, he uses abusive or obscene language, or makes an
obscene gesture; or
4. Without lawful authority, he disturbs any lawful assembly or
meeting of persons; or
5. He obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
6. He congregates with other persons in a public place and refuses to
comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse; or
7. He creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act
which serves no legitimate purpose.
Disorderly conduct is a violation.
It looks like what you did does not constitute disorderly conduct. Between this, the report filed by the officer, and you just showing up you should be able to get the charges dropped. Hiring a lawyer should all but ensure you get it dropped, but probably isn’t necessary if it is cost prohibitive.[/quote]
It happened in NJ but the law is pretty much the same.
I called a lawyer and am waiting to hear back and see what he has to say.
I have had this situation happen to me. Most are blowing this out of proportion. You dont need a lawyer. Go to court and they wont even appoint you an attorney. As the law states playing your radio too loud and too late at night can get you a disorderly conduct.
The judge will make you pay a fine plus the surcharge and you will be given a VIOLATION and the judge will put a stipulation that you have to stay out of trouble for 6 months to a year. Just dont mention alcohol or they will make you take some type of class that your insurance will barely cover. Its just a violation.
In Texas we have this thing called deferred adjudication. If you plea guilty, and the judge sentences you with deferred adjudication probation, and you dont get in trouble, it gets wiped off your record. I was on it once in my previous thug life. I did a google search and found a few cases of deferred adjudication in Jersey so I know its in the law books there. Get a lawyer, its gonna cost a mint, but it can be removed off your record if you complete probation with no incidents.
[quote]admbaum wrote:
In Texas we have this thing called deferred adjudication. If you plea guilty, and the judge sentences you with deferred adjudication probation, and you dont get in trouble, it gets wiped off your record. I was on it once in my previous thug life. I did a google search and found a few cases of deferred adjudication in Jersey so I know its in the law books there. Get a lawyer, its gonna cost a mint, but it can be removed off your record if you complete probation with no incidents.[/quote]
why advise him to spend money on a lawyer for a violation that doesnt go on your record? When you go into court for a violation to answer your charges the judge does not even appoint you a lawyer if you cant afford one. Its a ticket. Not a crime.
[quote]tedro wrote: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS
�§ 240.20 Disorderly conduct.
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause
public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk
thereof:
1. He engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening
behavior; or
2. He makes unreasonable noise; or
3. In a public place, he uses abusive or obscene language, or makes an
obscene gesture; or
4. Without lawful authority, he disturbs any lawful assembly or
meeting of persons; or
5. He obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
6. He congregates with other persons in a public place and refuses to
comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse; or
7. He creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act
which serves no legitimate purpose.
Disorderly conduct is a violation.
It looks like what you did does not constitute disorderly conduct. Between this, the report filed by the officer, and you just showing up you should be able to get the charges dropped. Hiring a lawyer should all but ensure you get it dropped, but probably isn’t necessary if it is cost prohibitive.[/quote]
The problem is judges can bend the meaning of those. The judge can “interpret” the OP’s actions of flipping off some guys hat as violent, or fighting gesture. We all know it’s bullshit, but it’s happened before and it will happen again.
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
tedro wrote: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS
�?�§ 240.20 Disorderly conduct.
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause
public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk
thereof:
1. He engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening
behavior; or
2. He makes unreasonable noise; or
3. In a public place, he uses abusive or obscene language, or makes an
obscene gesture; or
4. Without lawful authority, he disturbs any lawful assembly or
meeting of persons; or
5. He obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
6. He congregates with other persons in a public place and refuses to
comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse; or
7. He creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act
which serves no legitimate purpose.
Disorderly conduct is a violation.
It looks like what you did does not constitute disorderly conduct. Between this, the report filed by the officer, and you just showing up you should be able to get the charges dropped. Hiring a lawyer should all but ensure you get it dropped, but probably isn’t necessary if it is cost prohibitive.
The problem is judges can bend the meaning of those. The judge can “interpret” the OP’s actions of flipping off some guys hat as violent, or fighting gesture. We all know it’s bullshit, but it’s happened before and it will happen again.[/quote]
Agreed but in this case the judge cant elevate the violation to a misdemeanor. You can only be charged and convicted of the current level of charge or lower. He is being brought up on a violation so therefore he can only get and is going to get a violation. Depending on how severe the violation was (fighting versus jaywalking) will be reflected in the fine and “probationary period”.
If you are near a local law school they may have a free students clinic in which the students would be overseen by actual attorneys.
May attorneys also give a free evaluation of your case so I would call those first.
I would contact an attorney because your record is your’s for life.
Have you received any notice from the Prosecutor’s office? Is there a contact number? Have you requested any info about your charge? Is it a charge or a citation?
[quote]admbaum wrote:
every instance where a cop writes your name down goes on your record in Texas, even warnings for traffic violations. [/quote]
I am just speaking from experience as to the situation up here. I am from the tri-state area and have had a bunch of DCs. I am not proud of it but I know the process. At least in this area, violations, such as traffic violations or DCs, do not go on your record. So searching for a job or grad school admittance will not be effected.
If the OP is a first time offender the total fine is going to be between $75 and $150. So to pay that on top of a lawyer (which isnt necessary) is not really worth it. That sucks though that small violations go on record in Texas. If i am ever down there i will most surely be on my best behavior.
[quote]phishfood1128 wrote:
admbaum wrote:
every instance where a cop writes your name down goes on your record in Texas, even warnings for traffic violations.
I am just speaking from experience as to the situation up here. I am from the tri-state area and have had a bunch of DCs. I am not proud of it but I know the process. At least in this area, violations, such as traffic violations or DCs, do not go on your record. So searching for a job or grad school admittance will not be effected.
If the OP is a first time offender the total fine is going to be between $75 and $150. So to pay that on top of a lawyer (which isnt necessary) is not really worth it. That sucks though that small violations go on record in Texas. If i am ever down there i will most surely be on my best behavior. [/quote]
every ticket and citation goes on your record. Think of traffic tickets. They stay on there.
You can be cited or arrested without being charged and perhaps then convicted. Cops can’t charge you, only the Prosecutor charges you.
This is why an attorney is a good idea. There is a lot of variables.
The OP should check out some attorneys, see if there is a local law school, or cough up the dough.
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
phishfood1128 wrote:
admbaum wrote:
every instance where a cop writes your name down goes on your record in Texas, even warnings for traffic violations.
I am just speaking from experience as to the situation up here. I am from the tri-state area and have had a bunch of DCs. I am not proud of it but I know the process. At least in this area, violations, such as traffic violations or DCs, do not go on your record. So searching for a job or grad school admittance will not be effected.
If the OP is a first time offender the total fine is going to be between $75 and $150. So to pay that on top of a lawyer (which isnt necessary) is not really worth it. That sucks though that small violations go on record in Texas. If i am ever down there i will most surely be on my best behavior.
every ticket and citation goes on your record. Think of traffic tickets. They stay on there.
You can be cited or arrested without being charged and perhaps then convicted. Cops can’t charge you, only the Prosecutor charges you.
This is why an attorney is a good idea. There is a lot of variables.
The OP should check out some attorneys, see if there is a local law school, or cough up the dough.
[/quote]
I have had DCs a couple of times and they are not on my record. I have cleared background checks for jobs. Maybe its different from state to state. As for traffic tickets, they stay on your record for up to 3 years. But that is mainly used for insurance purposes. In NY violations such as DCs dont show up on job background checks.