Disorderly Conduct Law Firms in Illinois

According to Illinois law, a person commits disorderly conduct when he or she acts “in such unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb another and to provoke a breach of the peace.” Examples of disorderly conduct include: calling the fire department to report a false fire alarm; making a false call to 911; filing a false police report; loud or unreasonable noise; peering into the windows of others with a lewd purpose; public drunkenness; and making telephone calls for the purpose of collecting an alleged debt by using tactics designed to harass, annoy, or intimidate the alleged debtor into paying their debt.

Disorderly conduct is one of the most common offenses in Illinois and is often the result of unreasonable police officers giving someone a hard time until they lose their cool. In fact, the offense can sometimes be called “conduct that the police don’t like” because it can be used to describe almost any action they find annoying. When the police want to arrest you, but don’t have a crime to charge you with they will often call it disorderly conduct.

Most sentences for violation of the Illinois disorderly conduct law involve a misdemeanor sentence. Convictions may result in court supervision, conditional discharge, probation, or face a maximum of one year in the county jail. A conviction for disorderly conduct may affect one’s ability to obtain a job, which is we highly recommend that you obtain a criminal defense attorney.

The reality of these charges is that most prosecutors and Judges know that they are often brought without real evidence of a crime occurring. As a result, we see well connected attorneys get these charges completely dismissed more than any crime we know. It’s still a charge to be taken seriously, but it usually is very defendable and beatable. In fact, one Chicago disorderly conduct defense lawyer we know had more than 20 straight cases completely dismissed.

If you have been arrested or just have general questions and would like to speak to one of our attorneys please do not hesitate to contact us. All calls are free and confidential and we will offer the same guidance to you that we would to a lifelong friend.