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Elliot Felig & Associates

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Disorderly Conduct

What are the potential consequences of a Disorderly Conduct Arrest?

Any kind of arrest, even for the most minor of offenses, can be a horrifying and frightening experience, and can also have ramifications far outside the criminal justice system, for example, by destroying one’s reputation, damaging their potential employment prospects, harming their credit or ability to earn professional licenses, or endangering their immigration status.

What is Disorderly Conduct?

In New York every year, thousands of individuals are charged with the violation known as “Disorderly Conduct”, under New York State Penal Law Section 240.20.   The statute itself is worded so broadly, it can encompass a wide range of conduct, which is one of the reasons it is charged by the Police and the District Attorney’s Office so often.

While a charge like Disorderly Conduct may not seem especially significant compared to felonies and other serious crimes, as noted above, if not handled properly, pleading guilty can have terrible ramifications.

Speak to an attorney with decades of experience handling such charges

Anyone facing a charge of Disorderly Conduct should talk to a skilled attorney, particularly one with years of experience as a prosecutor who handled hundreds of similar cases, and experience as a supervising prosecutor overseeing thousands of similar cases. In many cases, the right attorney can find flaws in the charging documents, or put forth other reasons before the court, to get the case dismissed outright, sometimes even at the first court appearance.

Having the right attorney can make all the difference

Any arrest, even for disorderly conduct, must be taken seriously. Too often, people charged with Disorderly Conduct receive bad legal advice from attorneys who convince them to quickly and foolishly plead guilty because they mistakenly believe that it will never come back to haunt them. They then face the prospect of having the charge crop up in some future proceeding, when instead, if they had the right attorney, the case would have been dismissed.

Before making any decisions about a Disorderly Conduct case, please contact our office to speak with a knowledgeable and experienced attorney at 212-828-2770