The Least-Understood Crime in San Diego

In San Diego County, prosecutors will frequently negotiate a criminal case with a criminal defense lawyer.  They will give deals where they want the defendant to plead guilty to a lesser crime instead of the crime the defendant was originally charged with. The lesser crime that is probably most-commonly offered in the prosecutors’ deals is what we call, “disturbing the peace.”

“Disturbing the peace” is Penal Code section 415. A prosecutor can prove that a defendant is guilty of disturbing the peace if the defendant did one of the following three things:

1. Fought in public, or while in public challenged someone else to fight;
2. “Maliciously and willfully” disturbed another person by making loud and unreasonable noise; or
3. Used offensive words in public that were likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.

Unfortunately, this crime is not very well understood by San Diego police officers. When there is a fight in public, police officers will commonly arrest the person who threw the first punch on assault and/or battery charges. However, it may commonly be the case that the person who threw the first punch did so because he was egged-on by the other guy. In other words, the person arrested was really the victim of the “disturbing the peace” crime committed by the other guy.  When this happens, San Diego police arrest the real victim and start calling the real wrong-doer the victim. If the “disturbing the peace” crime were better understood, this scenario would not happen.

If you have been arrested or charged with disturbing the peace in San Diego, make sure you hire an excellent criminal defense lawyer who can fight your case for you—and with you. As a team, you need to persuade the cops and the prosecutors that they have the wrong person. If you would like to speak to a San Diego criminal defense lawyer about your disturbing the peace charge, contact Wallin & Klarich right away via phone at 1-877-230-1529 or fill out our consultation form for a free evaluation of your San Diego County criminal case.