My 16 year old son was just charged with disorderly conduct because him a few friends dressed up like an old man and walked down the sidewalk, pretended like he fell and then ran when someone stopped to check on him. They obviously were just having a little fun and not intending it to "disturb" anyone. It was all in fun. He is not fighting the charge because he realizes now that it wasnt a wise decision. But my question is How is this going to affect him? Will this remain on his permanent record or be deleted off when he turns 18? Will this affect his chances of getting a job or going to college?
2007-02-22 05:10:48 · 10 answers · asked by sea_sher 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
It won't, I've been there. You'd be surprised at how many people have little blemishes like this. They go away and wont prevent him. It was a silly prank and the sad truth is, police are being encouraged to file such charges to make up revenue.
However, I would recomend you hire an attorney, even if it costs a little more for your sons hearing, just to ensure his privacy.
For the record, I had a similair charges in high school, both when I was 17, related to alcohol possesion and ironically, I went with an attorney and plead down to "disorderly conduct" and "Disturbing the peace" for the sole reason of having it not be on my record (an alcohol charge would have been on my driving record, even though there was no car involved).
My parents were livid when they found out, but I swear to you, it does nothing but cost your son a couple hundred bucks. I got into all of the colleges I applied to, passed all background checks for jobs, etc.
2007-02-22 05:17:17 · answer #1 · answered by Frank 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as this goes, "disorderly conduct" is typically considered a misdemeanor, which means that your son will experience one of the following:
1.) The judge (or, more likely, magistrate) will allow for some form of probation for your son to show he's grown beyond his antics, and if he keeps a clean record for that duration then the incident will be expunged permanently from his record.
2.) the incident remains, but as it is a misdemeanor, it is not something which will effect his ability to be hired, as only felonies are required to be divulged on an application. Any background check performed my turn it up, but again, employers are not really allowed to use that as the basis to not hire someone.
Basically, a "disorderly conduct" charge can be leveled for any number of reasons. It's not really all that descriptive as to what happened - it can be applied to protesters just as easily as schoolkids acting up a bit.
So don't sweat it too much, and if you're still highly concerned about its impact then I'd recommend seeking legal counsel, as an attorney may be able to work with the courts to bring about the best possible results.
2007-02-22 05:21:42 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do no worry about this a second longer. No one is going to care about this. A disorderly conduct at 16 will have no effect on anything when he hits 18. If he has good grades and the scores to get into a good school, they could care less about this. Also, I can't imagine a job that would care if you did something silly when you were 16. I would fight the charge, btw--it's a silly charge. Have we become this hard-assed and anal? If think about all of the stuff I did when I was in high school...
If you want peace of mind, ask a local lawyer.
2007-02-22 05:21:39 · answer #3 · answered by I 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to my penal code book, P.C. 647 Disorderly conduct defined anyone of the following act is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor...... And the book goes forth to explain the crime.
Now considering that this offense is considered a misdemeanor it will affect him if he goes forth pursuing a job in law enforcement. It will not disqualify him from the position, but it is never wise to have a misdemeanor on your record.
If you have his records sealed as a minor I believe that it will completely close it off to public view.
Since the code is a pretty thourough one, I would suggest reading it in a penal code book and deciding if this is something that falls under disorderly conduct. If it doesn't, then I would highly suggest that you fight it in court.
It can affect him in some ways of getting certain jobs depending on the title. However, for college I am not sure. Hopefully that answers your question.
2007-02-22 05:27:01 · answer #4 · answered by Curiousity 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to check your local rules to see if your son needs to fight this charge.
Obviously, it's a low-grade misdemeanor, but a conviction could be problematic if your jurisdiction doesn't automatically expunge such silliness after a given time. Any conviction could potentially have future consequences, i.e. certain schools, specific jobs requiring security clearances.
I would make this a family project to fight the case. He was "over-charged" by some bored cop, there was no public endangerment, violence or recklessness involved. No D.A. worth his job would take this to trial, and even if they did I know of no judge anywhere that wouldn't toss this case in minute #1.
I would approach the DA and ask "Are you kidding me?" I'll bet he laughs. If not, tell him "OK, let's set a trial date".
2007-02-22 05:21:42 · answer #5 · answered by gw_bushisamoron 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Lol that is the stupidest reason why to be arrested. I think that cops should have better things to do but apparently not. My father was a judge and is now a lawyer—I remember him saying something about judicial dispostion. I dont really know all the laws and whatnot but I do know that you could most definitely remove that from his record. Talk to your lawyer.
2007-02-22 05:27:50 · answer #6 · answered by Livin it 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on the laws where you live.... If you call a lawyer that deals with teens in your area, he/she will likely answer your question free of charge on the phone.
I have a hard time understanding how you think this is all in fun.... Does he realize this could have really harmed the person that stopped to help him??????
2007-02-22 05:19:54 · answer #7 · answered by The ReDesign Diva 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
counsel him and ask him to to be vigilant about his actions ask him to do only those things which pass the test of his rational judgement.tell him to do only those things which he would not like to be done on him or would not like seeing others to do.
also tell to keep a check on his behave when he is in a group as teen behave differently in group.
Hold him accountable for his deeds that would make him more responsible
2007-02-22 05:17:40 · answer #8 · answered by wizzrad 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok,well when hes 18 it will b deleted(at least as far as i no)nd it wont affect collage.maybe jobs for a few months,a year at the most.The important thing is he knows it was wrong.
2007-02-22 05:20:49 · answer #9 · answered by ur_crimson_nightmare 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you gotta fight it ...it is not a crime....a beat cop get promoted by the amount of tickets he writes. make the prosecutor drag the idiot "quota cop" to court. hopefully, it is his day off and has to waste six hours on his day off. the worst you can do is pay an extra seventy dollars for court time.
2007-02-22 05:20:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋