Walk It Through: The Sidewalk
Disorderly conduct, resisting or delaying an officer, and a misdemeanor's default range.
After a concert, a person who has had too much to drink is sitting on the sidewalk outside a bar when an officer walks over.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One night and one sidewalk. Wobblers, the treatment facility itself, and resisting an executive officer are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Civil protective custodyCustody in which an officer, if reasonably able to, takes a person found intoxicated in public to a designated facility for 72 hour treatment and evaluation.
- Disturbing the peaceUnlawfully fighting in public, maliciously disturbing others with loud and unreasonable noise, or using offensive words in public inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction. Up to 90 days in county jail, a fine of up to $400, or both.
- EvadingWillfully fleeing a pursuing police vehicle showing a red light and distinctively marked, with a uniformed officer driving. A misdemeanor, up to one year in county jail.
- Resisting, delaying or obstructingWillfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer in the discharge of a duty, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.
- InfractionAn offense classified as an infraction, carrying a fine up to $250 when no other punishment is set.
- WobblerA crime punishable either as a felony or a misdemeanor, in the court's discretion, which becomes a misdemeanor for all purposes in the cases the section lists.