Disorderly Conduct Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

Most of these cases start with Tempe Police. An officer answers a call about noise, a fight or a disturbance, talks to whoever is still there, and either writes a citation on the spot or sends a report for review. A misdemeanor then belongs to the Criminal Division of the Tempe City Attorney's Office, which prosecutes misdemeanors committed in Tempe, and the case is set at Tempe Municipal Court, 140 E. Fifth Street.

Under A.R.S. § 13-2904, disorderly conduct requires an intent to disturb the peace or quiet of a neighborhood, family or person, or knowledge of doing so, plus one of six kinds of conduct. Five of them are class 1 misdemeanors. The sixth, recklessly handling, displaying or discharging a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, is a class 6 felony, and felonies go to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and Superior Court downtown, at the Central Court Building, 201 W. Jefferson St., or the South Court Tower, 175 W. Madison St. Confirm the building on your current notice.

Noise in rental neighborhoods draws its own attention in Tempe. The city's Renting in Tempe guidance tells tenants that residents may receive fines when noise complaints come in about loud parties or gatherings, and that failing to follow the city's codes can lead to civil citations or criminal complaints. A civil code citation and a criminal disorderly conduct count are different things, so read your paperwork closely to see which one you have, or whether you have both.

Property damage complaints often begin online. Tempe Police lets people report criminal damage and criminal damage to a vehicle through its online form, as long as the incident happened in Tempe and not at Arizona State University. A neighbor or landlord can therefore put your name in a report before any officer has asked for your account. Criminal damage under A.R.S. § 13-1602 is classed by the dollar amount: a class 2 misdemeanor at $250 or less, a class 1 misdemeanor above $250 and below $1,000, and a felony from $1,000 up.

On campus, ASU Police has original jurisdiction over property owned or controlled by the Arizona Board of Regents, so an ASU officer may write the citation; follow the court printed on it. The Dean of Students, not the police, enforces the Student Code of Conduct, which runs apart from any court case.

Do not assume the court will appoint you a lawyer. Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 6.1(b) entitles an indigent defendant to appointed counsel in a proceeding that may result in punishment by loss of liberty. In misdemeanor court, the prosecutor can avow that no jail will be requested and the judge can rule that no jail will be imposed, and once that happens, there is no right to appointed counsel at all. Arizona's Court of Appeals upheld exactly that in Campa v. Fleming, 134 Ariz. 330 (App. 1982), on a class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, for a defendant who was on probation and facing immigration consequences.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A disorderly conduct or criminal damage conviction can come up in a rental application, a job screening, a fingerprint clearance card review, a student conduct process or an immigration case. If the court marks it as domestic violence, firearm and family court questions can follow too.