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Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such statutes are often used as "catch-all" crimes. Police may use a disorderly conduct charge to keep the peace when people are behaving in a disruptive manner to themselves or others, but otherwise present no serious public danger. Disorderly conduct is typically classified as a violation or misdemeanor.

Definitions[link]

A typical definition of disorderly conduct defines the offense in these ways:

A person who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally:

(1) engages in fighting or in tumultuous conduct;

(2) makes unreasonable noise and continues to do so after being asked to stop; or

(3) disrupts a lawful assembly of persons;

commits disorderly conduct. . .^[1]

Indiana's definition of "disorderly conduct" is modeled after the Model Penal Code's definition, and is typical, but not identical, to similar laws on the statute books of other U.S. states. It covers a large variety of potential acts in its prohibition. "Fighting" is perhaps the clearest act within the scope of its prohibition, and "tumultuous conduct" is "conduct [...] likely to result in serious bodily injury to a person or substantial damage to property." But exactly what constitutes "tumultuous conduct", "unreasonable noise", or "disrupt[ing] a lawful assembly" are matters that are far harder to decide, and as such disorderly conduct statutes give police officers and other authorities fairly broad discretion to arrest people whose activities they find undesirable for a wide variety of reasons. Potential punishments include a jail term, fine, probation, restraining orders, or community service.

Interpretation[link]

The courts confronted with cases stemming from these arrests have from time to time had occasion to restrict the broad and vague definitions of the statute to make certain that freedom of speech and assembly and other forms of protected expression under the First Amendment were not affected.^[2] They also have had occasion to curb its scope to make certain that people were (or could have been) aware that their conduct was, in fact, within the prohibition of the statute, as required by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, no court has struck down a disorderly conduct statute as being per se unconstitutionally vague or overbroad. Courts have been willing to strike down vagrancy ordinances which are nearly as vague and do not give adequate warning.

States like California that have common law have disorderly conduct mentioned in different codes. California Penal Code § 415 which is similar to the Model Penal Code reiteration above actually concerns disturbing the peace. However, in California disorderly conduct (California Penal Code § 647) lists what acts constitute disorderly conduct.

Section 647: Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor

(a) Who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.

(b) Who solicits or who agrees to engage in or who engages in any act of prostitution. A person agrees to engage in an act of prostitution when, with specific intent to so engage, they manifest an acceptance of an offer or solicitation to so engage, regardless of whether the offer or solicitation was made by a person who also possessed the specific intent to engage in prostitution. No agreement to engage in an act of prostitution shall constitute a violation of this subdivision unless some act, in addition to the agreement, is done within this state in furtherance of the commission of an act of prostitution by the person agreeing to engage in that act. As used in this subdivision, "prostitution" includes any lewd act between persons for money or other consideration.

(c) Who accosts other persons in any public place or in any place open to the public for the purpose of begging or soliciting alms.

(d) Who loiters in or about any toilet open to the public for the purpose of engaging in or soliciting any lewd or lascivious or any unlawful act.

(e) Who lodges in any building, structure, vehicle, or place,whether public or private, without the permission of the owner or person entitled to the possession or in control of it.

(f) Who is found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance, toluene, or any combination of any intoxicating liquor, drug, controlled substance, or toluene, in a condition that they are unable to exercise care for their own safety or the safety of others, or by reason of their being under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance, toluene, or any combination of any intoxicating liquor, drug, or toluene, interferes with or obstructs or prevents the free use of any street, sidewalk, or other public way.

(h) Who loiters, prowls, or wanders upon the private property of another, at any time, without visible or lawful business with the owner or occupant. As used in this subdivision, "loiter" means to delay or linger without a lawful purpose for being on the property and for the purpose of committing a crime as opportunity may be discovered.

(i) Who, while loitering, prowling, or wandering upon the private property of another, at any time, peeks in the door or window of any inhabited building or structure, without visible or lawful business with the owner or occupant.

(j) (1) Any person who looks through a hole or opening, into, or otherwise views, by means of any instrumentality, including, but not limited to, a periscope, telescope, binoculars, camera, motion picture camera, or camcorder, the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the privacy of a person or persons inside. This subdivision shall not apply to those areas of a private business used to count currency or other negotiable instruments.

See also [link]

• Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy
• Disturbing the peace
• Unauthorized practice of law
• Queen's peace

References [link]

External links[link]

• 609.72, Minnesota Statutes 2006

Clark Davis Adams (July 23, 1969 – May 21, 2007) was a prominent American freethought leader and activist.

Adams was born in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child, he attended Catholic school, but became skeptical of the church's teachings at an early age. After reading material from American Atheists, he became, in his words, "a pretty hard core atheist" in college.^[1]

While attending a "Freethought Blitz" weekend in the Birmingham, Alabama, area, he became friends with many influential atheists. The same year, he became active with the Alabama Freethought Association and the Atlanta Freethought Society. He served as the primary organizer of the annual celebration Lollapalooza of Freethought. He also became the moderator of the newsgroup alt.atheism.moderated^[2] and organized three real-life meetings with participants of alt.atheism.

For many years, Clark Adams was a member of the Internet Infidels board, serving as its public relations director for many years and then as president.^[3][4][5] He was also, in his words, a freethought "conference junkie", attending and often speaking at many events within the community of freethought.^[1]

Clark Adams actively promoted the Secular Student Alliance and briefly sat on the Board of Directors for the group. He was also one of the founders of the Secular Coalition for America. In his hometown, he founded and was deeply involved with the Las Vegas Freethought Society, which he described as "a local group of fun godless heathens in Sin City." After Adams' suicide the organization made a Clark Adams memorial page.^[6] He was also for a time president of the Humanist Association of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, a chapter of the American Humanist Association. Shortly before his death, he became an AHA life member.

Clark Adams is one of many American freethinkers listed in Warren Allen Smith's satirically titled book, Who's Who in Hell.^[7]

Adams had a track dedicated to him in comedian Doug Stanhope's album From Across The Street; Adams deliberately postponed his suicide so he could attend Stanhope's show.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]