Disorderly Conduct Lawyer In Conroe, TX
Disorderly conduct looks like a minor ticket, and it is a fine-only Class C for most of the acts the statute lists. Two firearm versions are Class B misdemeanors with a jail range, and this page covers the elements, penalties, defenses and what a citation leaves on a record.
What Is Disorderly Conduct In Texas?
Disorderly conduct under Texas Penal Code § 42.01 lists acts such as offensive speech tending to cause a breach of the peace, unreasonable noise, fighting, exposure and firearm conduct, each done intentionally or knowingly in a public place or as described. Most are Class C misdemeanors. Firing a gun in public or displaying a weapon to alarm is a Class B.
Source: Texas Penal Code Chapter 42, Disorderly Conduct and Related Offenses
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Disorderly Conduct?
Texas Penal Code § 42.01 lists separate acts, and each is an offense when done intentionally or knowingly. Grouped by subject, they cover five kinds of behavior.
- Words and gestures: crude or offensive language or displays in public that tend to cause an immediate breach of the peace, and abusing or threatening someone in public
- Noise and odors: unreasonable noise, or a foul odor released by chemical means
- Fighting with another person in a public place
- Firearms: firing a gun in public, displaying a firearm or deadly weapon to alarm, or firing on or across a public road
- Exposure and peeping: exposing the anus or genitals in public, or looking into a home, hotel room or restroom for a lewd or unlawful purpose
"Public place" does a lot of work in this statute.
Penal Code § 1.07 defines a public place as anywhere the public or a substantial group of it has access. That reaches streets, parking lots, schools and the shared areas of apartment complexes, shopping centers and office buildings.
The state must prove the act, the public setting and the mental state beyond a reasonable doubt.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Disorderly Conduct In Texas?
The subsection named in the citation or complaint decides the class, and the class decides the court. These are statutory limits, not predictions.
No jail. Court costs are added.
For firing a gun in public or displaying a weapon to alarm. Fine up to $2,000.
After a conviction under the two firearm subsections.
- Most subsections
- Class C misdemeanor. A fine of up to $500. No jail.
- Firing a gun in public, (a)(7)
- Class B misdemeanor. Up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
- Displaying a weapon to alarm, (a)(8)
- Class B misdemeanor, with the same range.
- Firing on or across a road, (a)(9)
- Class C under § 42.01. The same shot can support other charges.
- Noise presumption
- Above 85 decibels is presumed unreasonable after a magistrate or peace officer gives notice of a public nuisance.
- Five year carry bar
- A conviction under (a)(7) or (a)(8) makes carrying a handgun without a license an offense under § 46.02 for five years.
A Class C conviction is still a criminal conviction. It can appear in a background check.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Disorderly Conduct In Texas?
Can an insult or a curse word be disorderly conduct?
Does a visible handgun count as displaying a weapon?
What if a heavier charge was reduced to disorderly conduct?
Can I take deferred disposition on a Class C citation?
Possible Defenses
How Can Disorderly Conduct Be Defended?
The state has to prove the act, the public place and the mental state. An attorney reviews the citation, the officer's report and any video to see whether the conduct fits the exact subsection charged. No result can be promised.
The charge next door is often heavier. A fist fight fits disorderly conduct and also assault. A threat shouted in public can be disorderly conduct or a terroristic threat.
Evidence and constitutional issues.
Speech cases raise the First Amendment. Fighting cases turn on who started it and whether force was justified. Noise cases turn on notice and measurement. Body camera footage often shows tone and distance better than a report can.
A gun aimed at a person moves out of this statute and into deadly conduct. Firearm discharge cases are covered on the discharge of a firearm page.
The Subsection
Which of the listed acts is charged, and does the evidence fit that one?
Public Place
Was the setting a place the public could access?
The Words
Did the speech tend to cause an immediate breach of the peace, or was it only rude?
Notice And Noise
Was notice of a public nuisance given before the 85 decibel presumption applied?
Self Defense
Does a fight charge ignore who was threatened first?
The Class
Is the charge Class C or Class B, and what does that mean for jail and a carry consequence?
Local Process
What Happens After A Disorderly Conduct Citation In Montgomery County?
A citation and an arrest lead to different courts. The class of the offense decides where the case is filed.
Citation Or Arrest
Most Class C acts end in a citation with a court date. A firearm act or a fight can end in a booking.
Court Setting
A Class C is heard by a justice or municipal court. A Class B is filed with the county's misdemeanor courts.
Resolution
Options can include dismissal, deferred disposition on a Class C, a plea, or a trial.
- Class C court
- A justice of the peace court, or a municipal court when a city's officers wrote the citation inside that city.
- Class B court
- Filed in one of the Montgomery County Courts at Law and prosecuted by Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Those courts sit in a different building in Conroe from the felony courthouse.
- Who writes the citation
- Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Constables, Precincts 1 through 5, Willis Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department, Oak Ridge North Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Splendora Police Department, or Roman Forest Police Department.
- If there is an arrest
- Booking is at the Montgomery County Jail at 1 Criminal Justice Drive.
- If the case is appealed
- Appeals go to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
A dismissed case can be cleared through an expunction.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Disorderly Conduct Citation?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Read The Subsection
The citation names the exact act charged. Find it before doing anything else.
Do Not Just Pay It
Paying is a plea that creates a conviction. Ask about other options first.
Note The Court Date
A missed date can add a warrant and extra charges.
Gather Video And Names
Phone clips and witness names help establish what really happened.
Do Not Carry Without Checking
A firearm subsection conviction can affect carrying for five years.
Stay Off Social Media
Posts about the incident can be used as evidence.
A lawyer can look at which options a citation leaves open before a plea is entered. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about disorderly conduct charges in Montgomery County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 42: Disorderly conduct, § 42.01
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 46: Unlawful carrying and weapons offenses
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment classes and ranges
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 45: Procedure in justice and municipal courts
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A: Expunction of criminal records
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Conroe trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Topics
Other Criminal Charges Handled In Conroe, TX
Disorderly conduct is often filed next to, or in place of, a heavier charge from the same incident. See the full criminal defense overview for Conroe.
Other Criminal Charges
Property, weapons, and public order offenses that sit outside the main categories.
Probation And Sentencing
What a sentence can look like, and what happens when the terms of one are challenged.
Records And Defense
How a case can come off, or be shielded on, a record, and the defense tools the law provides.
Common Questions
Disorderly Conduct Questions People In Conroe Ask
How much is a disorderly conduct ticket in Conroe, TX?
Most acts listed in Texas Penal Code § 42.01 are Class C misdemeanors, punishable by a fine of up to $500 with no jail. Court costs are added to any fine. The exceptions are firing a gun in a public place and displaying a firearm or other deadly weapon in public in a way meant to alarm, which are Class B misdemeanors.
Can I go to jail for disorderly conduct in Montgomery County?
A Class C offense carries a fine only. The two firearm acts, § 42.01(a)(7) and (a)(8), are Class B misdemeanors with up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. A Class B case is filed in one of the County Courts at Law, not in a justice or municipal court.
Is a loud party disorderly conduct in Conroe, TX?
Unreasonable noise in a public place, or near a private residence the person has no right to occupy, is covered by the statute. Noise above 85 decibels is presumed unreasonable once a magistrate or peace officer has given notice that it is a public nuisance. Without that notice, whether the noise was unreasonable is a question of fact.
Does paying a disorderly conduct citation in Montgomery County leave a record?
Paying a Class C citation is a plea that results in a conviction, and a conviction appears in criminal history records. Texas also allows deferred disposition on many Class C offenses, where the case is dismissed after conditions are met. A dismissed Class C case can be eligible for expunction under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Can shouting at a police officer in Conroe be disorderly conduct?
The speech provisions reach abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language in public only when the words by their very utterance tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. That limit comes from First Amendment fighting words cases. Rude or profane speech without that tendency, including speech aimed at an officer, falls outside the statute.
How does a disorderly conduct conviction affect carrying a handgun in Montgomery County?
Under Texas Penal Code § 46.02, a person convicted of disorderly conduct under § 42.01(a)(7) or (a)(8) within the previous five years commits unlawful carrying by carrying a handgun without a license. A Class C conviction under the other subsections is not on that list.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
A Small Charge Still Leaves A Record
Paying a ticket is a plea. Knowing the options before signing anything is worth a phone call.
Conroe Office
