Disorderly Conduct – Colorado Law & Penalty – C.R.S. § 18-9-106

Under Colorado Revised Statute § 18-9-106, you commit disorderly conduct by intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly engaging in one of several prohibited acts, most of which must occur in a public place. Depending on what allegedly occurred, the offense can be a petty offense or a misdemeanor.

Types of Disorderly Conduct

• Offensive words or gestures:  Making a coarse and obviously offensive statement, gesture, or display in public that tends to provoke an immediate breach of the peace;
• Unreasonable noise:  Making unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence that you have no right to occupy;
• Public fighting:  Fighting with another person in public outside of an amateur or professional athletic contest;
• Discharging a firearm:  Firing a gun in public unless you are lawfully hunting, practicing at a target, or firing blank cartridges as part of a veteran’s funeral; or
• Displaying or claiming to have a firearm:  Displaying a real or simulated gun, displaying an object made to look like a gun, or claiming to be armed in a way intended to alarm—and that actually alarms—another person.¹

Disorderly Conduct Penalties

• Petty offense:  Offensive words or gestures, unreasonable noise, and public fighting generally carry up to 10 days in jail and/or up to $300.
• Class 2 misdemeanor:  Displaying or claiming to have a firearm in a way intended to cause alarm carries up to 120 days in jail and/or up to $750. This penalty also applies to offensive words, gestures, or unreasonable noise meant to disrupt a funeral or distress an attendee.
• Class 1 misdemeanor:  Unlawfully firing a gun in public carries up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $1,000.

In our experience, disorderly conduct is sometimes charged after a chaotic event in which officers did not see everything that happened. Videos, witness statements, and the full context of the incident may show that you acted in self-defense, that your speech was protected by the First Amendment, or that your conduct did not meet the requirements of the statute.

Below, our Denver criminal defense lawyers will discuss the following issues regarding Colorado disorderly conduct laws:

• 1. Elements of C.R.S. 18-9-106
• 2. Penalties
• 3. Defenses
• 4. Related Crimes
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Additional Reading

1. Elements of C.R.S. 18-9-106

For you to be convicted of disorderly conduct in Colorado, prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly committed one of the following five actions:

1. Made a coarse and obviously offensive utterance, gesture, or display in public that tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
2. Made unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence where you had no right to be;
3. Fought with another in public (except in an amateur or professional contest of athletic skill);
4. If you were not a peace officer, fired a gun in public (except during lawful target practice, lawful hunting, or the ritual discharge of blank ammunition cartridges as an attendee at a veteran’s funeral); or
5. If you were not a peace officer, displayed a real or simulated gun, displayed an object made to look like a gun, or represented that you were armed in public in a way calculated to alarm and that did alarm another person.¹

The most common disorderly cases we see involve drunk brawling (“bar fights”) or playing music too loudly. Other examples of disorderly conduct include:

• Directing offensive “fighting words” at someone in public in a way likely to provoke an immediate violent response.
• Making a gun shape with your hand in your pocket in order to scare an opposing fan at a football game, and that person gets scared.
• Getting into a punching match with a fellow spectator in a sporting arena.

2. Penalties

Colorado’s punishments for disorderly conduct turn on the specific allegations.

Fighting with another person in a public place is a petty offense, punishable by up to 10 days in jail and/or a $300 fine.

Displaying or representing that you have a firearm in a public place in a way meant to cause alarm – and does cause alarm – is a class 2 misdemeanor. This carries a maximum of 120 days in jail and/or a $750 fine.

For a person who is not a peace officer, firing a gun in a public place is a class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to 364 days in jail and/or $1,000. This disorderly conduct provision does not apply to lawful target practice, lawful hunting, or the ritual discharge of blank cartridges by an attendee at a veteran’s funeral.

Making an inciting remark or gesture in public – or being unreasonably noisy – is usually a petty offense, carrying up to 10 days in jail and/or $300. However, this form of disorderly conduct becomes a class 2 misdemeanor if the intent was to:

• Disrupt, impair, or interfere with a funeral, or
• Cause severe emotional distress to a person attending a funeral.

Class 2 misdemeanors carry up to 120 days in jail and/or $750.

3. Defenses

Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, our attorneys have successfully handled hundreds of disorderly conduct cases. In our experience, the following four defenses have proven very effective with judges and prosecutors at getting C.R.S. 18-9-106 charges reduced or dismissed.

1. You were exercising your First Amendment rights.
2. The police officer overreacted to the situation and arrested you on false grounds.
3. You were acting in lawful self-defense.
4. You were a victim of mistaken identity, and the police arrested you, thinking you were the real culprit (which can happen in large crowds).

Typical evidence we rely on in these cases includes surveillance video and eyewitness accounts.

4. Related Crimes

• Assault – knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence causing bodily injury to another person, depending on the degree charged.
• Harassment – engaging in prohibited conduct with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm someone. Depending on the circumstances, a single strike, shove, or kick can qualify; repeated conduct is not always required.
• Menacing – knowingly placing or attempting to place someone in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. An express verbal threat is not required.
• Stalking – harassing someone in a way that involves both a credible threat and repeated behavior that reasonably causes the victim to be fearful or to suffer serious emotional distress.
• Trespass – knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in or on qualifying property.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a petty offense and a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct?

A petty offense carries up to 10 days in jail and/or $300 in fines, while misdemeanors are more serious. Class 2 misdemeanors carry up to 120 days in jail and/or $750, and class 1 misdemeanors carry up to 364 days in jail and/or $1,000. The penalty depends on what type of disorderly conduct you’re charged with.

Can I be charged with disorderly conduct for arguing with someone in public?

Merely arguing, swearing, or using offensive language in public is not automatically disorderly conduct. The prosecution must prove that your words or gestures were coarse and obviously offensive and, under the circumstances, tended to provoke an immediate violent response or breach of the peace. Political criticism, profanity, insults, and heated arguments may remain protected by the First Amendment.

We often look closely at the exact words used, the tone of the exchange, the distance between the people, and whether anyone appeared ready to fight. A witness’s full video can provide a very different picture from a short clip or an officer’s initial account.

What happens if I am falsely accused of disorderly conduct?

Common defenses include proving you were exercising First Amendment rights, showing the police overreacted, demonstrating you acted in self-defense, or proving mistaken identity. Evidence like surveillance video and eyewitness accounts can help support your case.

In our experience, surveillance footage and cellphone videos can disappear quickly, so we try to preserve them as soon as possible. We also identify witnesses before memories fade or the people involved become difficult to locate.

Is playing loud music considered disorderly conduct in Colorado?

Playing loud music can amount to disorderly conduct if it constitutes unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence that you have no right to occupy. Whether the noise was unreasonable depends on the circumstances, including its volume, duration, time, location, and effect on other people. This form of disorderly conduct is typically a petty offense carrying up to 10 days in jail and/or $300 in fines.

We examine the time of day, how long the music played, whether police gave a warning, and what nearby witnesses actually heard. A neighbor’s annoyance alone does not necessarily prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the noise was legally unreasonable.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Fighting Words Today – Pepperdine Law Review. 
• Civil Disturbances, Mass Processing and Misdemeanants: Rights, Remedies and Realities – The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science.
• Disorderly Conduct Statutes in our Changing Society – William & Mary Law Review.

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