Source: http://sessalaw.com/crimes/public-order-obstruction/disorderly-conduct/
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 13:12:26+00:00

Document:
Where a defendant engages in purely verbal conduct, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution limits the application of Florida’s disorderly conduct statute to so-called “fighting words” or “words like shouts of ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.” See State v. Saunders, 339 So.2d 641 (Fla.1976); Wiltzer v. State, 756 So.2d 1063 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000).
‘Fighting words’ are defined as words “which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.” White v. State, 330 So.2d 3, 6 (Fla., 1976) (citing Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942)).
The Florida Supreme Court has further clarified that “words like shouts of ‘fire’ in crowded theater” means “words, known to be false, reporting some physical hazard in circumstances where such a report creates a clear and present danger of bodily harm to others.” State v. Saunders, 339 So.2d 641, 644 (Fla., 1976).
Given the strict construction of Section 877.03, words alone are generally insufficient to sustain a conviction for disorderly conduct. See A.S.C. v. State, 14 So. 3d 1118 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 5th Dist. 2009) (holding that in the absence of evidence that the juvenile was trying to incite a crowd or that a safety risk was posed from a crowd, loud speech and profanity were insufficient to support a disorderly conduct conviction); W.L. v. State, 769 So.2d 1132 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)(First Amendment protected profanities and offensive speech, and therefore prohibited arrest and delinquency adjudication for disorderly conduct).
Source: C.P. v. State, 644, So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (Evidence insufficient for disorderly conduct where a juvenile stated “F*** you, p***y cracker” to a police officer and then, during arrest, yelled so loudly that other occupants at a hotel came out of their rooms); K.Y.E. v. State, 557 So. 2d 956, 957 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (reversing a conviction for disorderly conduct where a defendant repeatedly sang “F*** the police” during an officer’s conversation with another person, and yelled so loudly that he statements could be heard across the street, where adults and children had gathered); K.S. v. State, 697 So. 2d 1275 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3d Dist. 1997) (loud and obscene yelling at police insufficient to support disorderly conduct conviction).
Thus, in C.L.B. v. State, 689 So. 2d 1171 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2d Dist. 1997), a defendant yelled obscenities at a police officer and members of a crowd during the officer’s arrest of another suspect. The defendant approached the officer so closely that the officer had to repeatedly push the defendant away. On these facts, the Second District Court of Appeal upheld the disorderly conduct conviction because the defendant’s nonverbal acts interfered with the officer’s arrest of another person.
See also Wiltzer v. State, 756 So.2d 1063, 1066 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (holding that Wiltzer’s words in combination with his nonverbal acts of bumping into the police officer, brushing the officer aside, and throwing his wallet at the officer were sufficient to support a conviction for disorderly conduct); Barry v. State, 934 So. 2d 656 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006).
Source: Miller v. State, 780 So.2d 197 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (loud yelling and belligerent attitude insufficient for conviction because there was no evidence that the defendant’s actions were more than a mere annoyance to those around her); Miller v. State, 667 So.2d 325, 328 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (reversing conviction for disorderly conduct and stating that there must be “something more than loud or profane language and a belligerent attitude”); Gonzales v. City of Belle Glade, 287 So.2d 669, 670 (Fla.1973) (reversing disorderly conduct conviction because the defendant’s words were nothing more than an annoyance to those around him).
Source: Barry, 934 So. 2d at 659; K.S. v. State, 697 So.2d 1275, 1276 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (reversing adjudication for disorderly conduct even though a crowd gathered to watch the goings-on because the crowd did not respond to K.S.’s words or attempt to otherwise breach the peace); B.R. v. State, 657 So.2d 1184, 1186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (reversing adjudication for disorderly conduct even though everyone in a nearby laundry came out and passersby stopped to watch when there was no evidence that the defendant’s yelling incited anyone in the area to an immediate breach of the peace); C.P. v. State, 644 So. 2d 200 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (reversing a conviction even though a crowd had gathered outside a motel room as a result of the defendant’s actions).
Contrary to the beliefs of many prosecutors, self-defense is a valid defense to a charge of disorderly conduct. S.D.G. v. State, 919 So.2d 704, 705 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). However, the defense applies only if the defendant did not provoke the fight or other altercation. Id. D.M.L. v. State, 773 So.2d 1216, 1217 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000). Self-defense claims are often raised where the allegations involve fighting or brawling.
If you have been arrested for disorderly conduct, contact attorney Steven Sessa for a free consultation. We represent clients charged with this offense throughout the State of Florida.

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