City of Atlanta Experiences Protests Again

Atlanta Police Car

Atlanta, Ga. - Protestors and demonstrators have been active again this weekend in Downtown Atlanta. The demonstrations occurred in conjunction with other demonstrations throughout the country.

This all comes as dozens of lawyers, civil rights activists, and religious leaders continue to call for the City of Atlanta authorities to drop charges against the hundreds arrested during protests earlier this summer.

As an Atlanta DUI Lawyer, I covered various stories and cases involving the people arrested this summer during the demonstrations. Many of the arrests involved curfew violations or charges for disorderly conduct.

As a firm we focus on DUI law and all charges associated with DUI in Atlanta. This includes disorderly conduct charges. In today's post, I will outline the law behind the offense of disorderly conduct.

Disorderly Conduct

Disorderly conduct is defined by the Georgia Code by outlining a multitude of acts:

• When a person 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;
• When a person acts in a violence or tumultuous manner toward another person whereby the property of such person is placed in danger of being damaged or destroyed;
• When a person 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
• When a person 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)

Once convicted, the person is deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Misdemeanor convictions can include up to 12 months in jail or up to $1,000 in fines or both. 

Practice Note

If you are facing the consequences of being arrested or cited for a crime or legal violation, call our offices now. We can help you with your case today.