S 240.20 Disorderly Conduct.
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause
public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk
thereof:
1. He engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening
behavior; or
2. He makes unreasonable noise; or
3. In a public place, he uses abusive or obscene language, or makes an
obscene gesture; or
4. Without lawful authority, he disturbs any lawful assembly or
meeting of persons; or
5. He obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
6. He congregates with other persons in a public place and refuses to
comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse; or
7. He creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act
which serves no legitimate purpose.
Disorderly conduct is a violation.
New York Penal Law and Criminal Procedure Law Definitions of Terms of General Use
1. “Offense” means conduct for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment or to a fine is provided by any law of this state or by any law, local law or ordinance of a political subdivision of this state, or by any order, rule or regulation of any governmental instrumentality authorized by law to adopt the same.
2. “Traffic infraction” means any offense defined as “traffic infraction” by section one hundred fifty-five of the vehicle and traffic law.
3. “Violation” means an offense, other than a “traffic infraction,” for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of fifteen days cannot be imposed.
4. “Misdemeanor” means an offense, other than a “traffic infraction,” for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of fifteen days may be imposed, but for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of one year cannot be imposed.
5. “Felony” means an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of one year may be imposed.
6. “Crime” means a misdemeanor or a felony.
7. “Person” means a human being, and where appropriate, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality.
8. “Possess” means to have physical possession or otherwise to exercise dominion or control over tangible property.
9. “Physical injury” means impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.
10. “Serious physical injury” means physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ.
11. “Deadly physical force” means physical force which, under the circumstances in which it is used, is readily capable of causing death or other serious physical injury.
12. “Deadly weapon” means any loaded weapon from which a shot, readily capable of producing death or other serious physical injury, may be discharged, or a switchblade knife, gravity knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, dagger, billy, blackjack, plastic knuckles, or metal knuckles.
13. “Dangerous instrument” means any instrument, article or substance, including a “vehicle” as that term is defined in this section, which, under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used or threatened to be used, is readily capable of causing death or other serious physical injury.
14. “Vehicle” means a “motor vehicle”, “trailer” or “semi-trailer,” as defined in the vehicle and traffic law, any snowmobile as defined in the parks and recreation law, any aircraft, or any vessel equipped for propulsion by mechanical means or by sail.
15. “Public servant” means (a) any public officer or employee of the state or of any political subdivision thereof or of any governmental instrumentality within the state, or (b) any person exercising the functions of any such public officer or employee. The term public servant includes a person who has been elected or designated to become a public servant.
16. “Juror” means any person who is a member of any jury, including a grand jury, impaneled by any court in this state or by any public servant authorized by law to impanel a jury. The term juror also includes a person who has been drawn or summoned to attend as a prospective juror.
17. “Benefit” means any gain or advantage to the beneficiary and includes any gain or advantage to a third person pursuant to the desire or consent of the beneficiary.
18. “Juvenile offender” means (1) a person thirteen years old who is criminally responsible for acts constituting murder in the second degree as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 of this chapter or such conduct as a sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursuant to section 130.91 of the penal law; and (2) a person fourteen or fifteen years old who is criminally responsible for acts constituting the crimes defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 (murder in the second degree) and in subdivision three of such section provided that the underlying crime for the murder charge is one for which such person is criminally responsible; section 135.25 (kidnapping in the first degree); 150.20 (arson in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of section 120.10 (assault in the first degree); 125.20 (manslaughter in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of section 130.35 (rape in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of section 130.50 (criminal sexual act in the first degree); 130.70 (aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree); 140.30 (burglary in the first degree); subdivision one of section 140.25 (burglary in the second degree); 150.15 (arson in the second degree); 160.15 (robbery in the first degree); subdivision two of section 160.10 (robbery in the second degree) of this chapter; or section 265.03 of this chapter, where such machine gun or such firearm is possessed on school grounds, as that phrase is defined in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this chapter; or defined in this chapter as an attempt to commit murder in the second degree or kidnapping in the first degree, or such conduct as a sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursuant to section 130.91 of the penal law.
19. For the purposes of section 260.30 and 120.01 of this chapter the term “child day care provider” shall be defined as provided for in section three hundred ninety of the social services law.
20. For purposes of sections 120.13, 120.18, 125.11, 125.21 and 125.22 of this chapter, the term “peace officer” means a peace officer as defined in subdivision one, two, three, four, six, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-three-a, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, forty-three, forty-five, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-eight, sixty-one, as added by chapter two hundred fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-two, sixty-one, as added by chapter three hundred twenty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-two, sixty-two, as added by chapter two hundred four of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-three, sixty-two, as added by chapter six hundred eighty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-three, sixty-three, as amended by chapter six hundred thirty-eight of the laws of two thousand three, sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-eight, as added by chapter one hundred sixty-eight of the laws of two thousand, sixty-eight, as added by chapter three hundred eighty-one of the laws of two thousand, seventy, seventy-one, seventy-four, as added by chapter five hundred forty-eight of the laws of two thousand one, seventy-five, as added by chapter three hundred twenty-one of the laws of two thousand two, seventy-five, as added by chapter six hundred twenty-three of the laws of two thousand two, seventy-seven, as added by chapter three hundred sixty-seven of the laws of two thousand four, seventy-eight or seventy-nine, as added by chapter two hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand four, of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law, as well as any federal law enforcement officer defined in section 2.15 of the criminal procedure law.
21. “Drug trafficking felony” means any of the following offenses defined in article two hundred twenty of this chapter: violation of use of a child to commit a controlled substance offense as defined in section 220.28; criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree as defined in section 220.34; criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree as defined in section 220.39; criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree as defined in section 220.41; criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree as defined in section 220.43; criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds as defined in section 220.44; unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in the second degree as defined in section 220.74; unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in the first degree as defined in section 220.75; or operating as a major trafficker as defined in section 220.77.
22. “Accusatory instrument” means an indictment, an indictment ordered reduced pursuant to subdivision one-a of section 210.20 of this chapter, an information, a simplified information, a prosecutor’s information, a
superior court information, a misdemeanor complaint or a felony complaint. Every accusatory instrument, regardless of the person designated therein as accuser, constitutes an accusation on behalf of the state as plaintiff and must be entitled “the people of the state of New York” against a designated person, known as the defendant.
23. “Local criminal court accusatory instrument” means any accusatory instrument other than an indictment or a superior court information.
24. “Indictment” means a written accusation by a grand jury, more fully defined and described in article two hundred, filed with a superior court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one
or more offenses, at least one of which is a crime, and which serves as a basis for prosecution thereof.
25. “Superior Court Information” means a written accusation by a district attorney more fully defined and described in articles one hundred ninety-five and two hundred, filed with a superior court pursuant to article one hundred ninety-five, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a crime, and which serves as a basis for prosecution thereof.
26. “Information” means a verified written accusation by a person, more fully defined and described in article one hundred, filed with a local criminal court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission
of one or more offenses, none of which is a felony, and which may serve both to commence a criminal action and as a basis for prosecution thereof.
27. “Simplified traffic information” means a written accusation, more fully defined and described in article one hundred, by a police officer or other public servant authorized by law to issue same, filed with a local criminal court, which, being in a brief or simplified form prescribed by the commissioner of motor vehicles, charges a person with one or more traffic infractions or misdemeanors relating to traffic, and which may serve both to commence a criminal action for such offense and as a basis for prosecution thereof.
28. (a) “Simplified information” means a simplified traffic information, a simplified parks information, or a simplified environmental conservation information. (b) “Simplified traffic information” means a written accusation by a police officer, or other public servant authorized by law to issue same, more fully defined and described in article one hundred, filed with a local criminal court, which, being in a brief or simplified form prescribed by the commissioner of motor vehicles, charges a person with one or more traffic infractions or misdemeanors relating to traffic, and which may serve both to commence a criminal action for such offense and as a basis for prosecution thereof. (c) “Simplified parks information” means a written accusation by a police officer, or other public servant authorized by law to issue same, filed with a local criminal court, which, being in a brief or simplified
form prescribed by the commissioner of parks and recreation, charges a person with one or more offenses, other than a felony, for which a uniform simplified parks information may be issued pursuant to the parks
and recreation law and the navigation law, and which may serve both to commence a criminal action for such offense and as a basis for prosecution thereof. (d) “Simplified environmental conservation information” means a written accusation by a police officer, or other public servant authorized by law to issue same, filed with a local criminal court, which being in a brief or simplified form prescribed by the commissioner of environmental conservation, charges a person with one or more offenses, other than a felony, for which a uniform simplified environmental conservation simplified information may be issued pursuant to the environmental conservation law, and which may serve both to commence a criminal action for such offense and as a basis for prosecution thereof.
29. “Prosecutor’s Information” means a written accusation by a district attorney, more fully defined and described in article one hundred, filed with a local criminal court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one or more offenses, none of which is a felony, and which serves as a basis for prosecution thereof.
30. “Misdemeanor complaint” means a verified written accusation by a person, more fully defined and described in article one hundred, filed with a local criminal court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one or more offenses, at least one of which is a misdemeanor and none of which is a felony, and which serves to commence a criminal action but which may not, except upon the defendant’s
consent, serve as a basis for prosecution of the offenses charged therein.
31. “Felony complaint” means a verified written accusation by a person, more fully defined and described in article one hundred, filed with a local criminal court, which charges one or more defendants with the commission of one or more felonies and which serves to commence a criminal action but not as a basis for prosecution thereof.
32. “Arraignment” means the occasion upon which a defendant against whom an accusatory instrument has been filed appears before the court in which the criminal action is pending for the purpose of having such
court acquire and exercise control over his person with respect to such accusatory instrument and of setting the course of further proceedings in the action.
33. “Plea,” in addition to its ordinary meaning as prescribed in sections 220.10 and 340.20, means, where appropriate, the occasion upon which a defendant enters such a plea to an accusatory instrument.
34. “Trial.” A jury trial commences with the selection of the jury and includes all further proceedings through the rendition of a verdict. A non-jury trial commences with the first opening address, if there be
any, and, if not, when the first witness is sworn, and includes all further proceedings through the rendition of a verdict.
35. “Verdict” means the announcement by a jury in the case of a jury trial, or by the court in the case of a non-jury trial, of its decision upon the defendant’s guilt or innocence of the charges submitted to or
considered by it.
36. “Conviction” means the entry of a plea of guilty to, or a verdict of guilty upon, an accusatory instrument other than a felony complaint, or to one or more counts of such instrument.
37. “Sentence” means the imposition and entry of sentence upon a conviction.
38. A “Judgment” is comprised of a conviction and the sentence imposed thereon and is completed by imposition and entry of the sentence.
39. “Criminal action.” A criminal action (a) commences with the filing of an accusatory instrument against a defendant in a criminal court, as specified in subdivision seventeen; (b) includes the filing of all
further accusatory instruments directly derived from the initial one, and all proceedings, orders and motions conducted or made by a criminal court in the course of disposing of any such accusatory instrument, or
which, regardless of the court in which they occurred or were made, could properly be considered as a part of the record of the case by an appellate court upon an appeal from a judgment of conviction; and (c) terminates with the imposition of sentence or some other final disposition in a criminal court of the last accusatory instrument filed in the case.
40. “Commencement of criminal action.” A criminal action is commenced by the filing of an accusatory instrument against a defendant in a criminal court, and, if more than one accusatory instrument is filed in
the course of the action, it commences when the first of such instruments is filed.
41. “Criminal proceeding” means any proceeding which (a) constitutes a part of a criminal action or (b) occurs in a criminal court and is related to a prospective, pending or completed criminal action, either
of this state or of any other jurisdiction, or involves a criminal investigation.
42. “Criminal court” means any court defined as such by section 10.10.
43. “Superior court” means any court defined as such by subdivision two of section 10.10.
44. “Local criminal court” means any court defined as such by subdivision three of section 10.10.
45. “Intermediate appellate court” means any court possessing appellate jurisdiction, other than the court of appeals.
46. “Judge” means any judicial officer who is a member of or constitutes a court, whether referred to in another provision of law as a justice or by any other title.
47. “Trial jurisdiction.” A criminal court has “trial jurisdiction” of an offense when an indictment or an information charging such offense may properly be filed with such court, and when such court has authority
to accept a plea to, try or otherwise finally dispose of such accusatory instrument.
48. “Preliminary jurisdiction.” A criminal court has “preliminary jurisdiction” of an offense when, regardless of whether it has trial jurisdiction thereof, a criminal action for such offense may be commenced therein, and when such court may conduct proceedings with respect thereto which lead or may lead to prosecution and final disposition of the action in a court having trial jurisdiction thereof.
49. “Appearance ticket” means a written notice issued by a public servant, more fully defined in section 150.10, requiring a person to appear before a local criminal court in connection with an accusatory
instrument to be filed against him therein.
50. “Summons” means a process of a local criminal court or superior court, more fully defined in section 130.10, requiring a defendant to appear before such court for the purpose of arraignment upon an
accusatory instrument filed therewith by which a criminal action against
him has been commenced.
51. “Warrant of arrest” means a process of a local criminal court, more fully defined in section 120.10, directing a police officer to arrest a defendant and to bring him before such court for the purpose of arraignment upon an accusatory instrument filed therewith by which a criminal action against him has been commenced.
52. “Superior court warrant of arrest” means a process of a superior court directing a police officer to arrest a defendant and to bring him before such court for the purpose of arraignment upon an indictment
filed therewith by which a criminal action against him has been commenced.
53. “Bench warrant” means a process of a criminal court in which a criminal action is pending, directing a police officer, or a uniformed court officer, pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision two of section
530.70 of this chapter, to take into custody a defendant in such action who has previously been arraigned upon the accusatory instrument by which the action was commenced, and to bring him before such court. The
function of a bench warrant is to achieve the court appearance of a defendant in a pending criminal action for some purpose other than his initial arraignment in the action.
54. “Prosecutor” means a district attorney or any other public servant who represents the people in a criminal action.
55. “District attorney” means a district attorney, an assistant district attorney or a special district attorney, and, where appropriate, the attorney general, an assistant attorney general, a
deputy attorney general, a special deputy attorney general, or the special prosecutor and inspector general for the protection of people with special needs or his or her assistants when acting pursuant to
their duties in matters arising under article twenty of the executive
law.
56. “Peace officer” means a person listed in section 2.10 of this chapter.
57. “Police officer.” The following persons are police officers:
(a) A sworn member of the division of state police;
(b) Sheriffs, under-sheriffs and deputy sheriffs of counties outside
of New York City;
(c) A sworn officer of an authorized county or county parkway police
department;
(d) A sworn officer of an authorized police department or force of a
city, town, village or police district;
(e) A sworn officer of an authorized police department of an authority
or a sworn officer of the state regional park police in the office of
parks and recreation;
(f) A sworn officer of the capital police force of the office of
general services;
(g) An investigator employed in the office of a district attorney;
(h) An investigator employed by a commission created by an interstate
compact who is, to a substantial extent, engaged in the enforcement of
the criminal laws of this state;
(i) The chief and deputy fire marshals, the supervising fire marshals
and the fire marshals of the bureau of fire investigation of the New
York City fire department;
(j) A sworn officer of the division of law enforcement in the
department of environmental conservation;
(k) A sworn officer of a police force of a public authority created by
an interstate compact;
(l) Long Island railroad police.
(m) A special investigator employed in the statewide organized crime
task force, while performing his assigned duties pursuant to section
seventy-a of the executive law.
(n) A sworn officer of the Westchester county department of public
safety services who, on or prior to June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
seventy-nine was appointed as a sworn officer of the division of
Westchester county parkway police or who was appointed on or after July
first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine to the title of police officer,
sergeant, lieutenant, captain or inspector or who, on or prior to
January thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, was appointed as a
Westchester county deputy sheriff.
(o) A sworn officer of the water-supply police employed by the city of
New York, appointed to protect the sources, works, and transmission of
water supplied to the city of New York, and to protect persons on or in
the vicinity of such water sources, works, and transmission.
(p) Persons appointed as railroad policemen pursuant to section
eighty-eight of the railroad law.
(q) An employee of the department of taxation and finance (i) assigned
to enforcement of the taxes imposed under or pursuant to the authority
of article twelve-A of the tax law and administered by the commissioner
of taxation and finance, taxes imposed under or pursuant to the
authority of article eighteen of the tax law and administered by the
commissioner, taxes imposed under article twenty of the tax law, or
sales or compensating use taxes relating to petroleum products or
cigarettes imposed under article twenty-eight or pursuant to the
authority of article twenty-nine of the tax law and administered by the
commissioner or (ii) designated as a revenue crimes specialist and
assigned to the enforcement of the taxes described in paragraph (c) of
subdivision four of section 2.10 of this title, for the purpose of
applying for and executing search warrants under article six hundred
ninety of this chapter, for the purpose of acting as a claiming agent
under article thirteen-A of the civil practice law and rules in
connection with the enforcement of the taxes referred to above and for
the purpose of executing warrants of arrest relating to the respective
crimes specified in subdivision four of section 2.10 of this title.
(r) Any employee of the Suffolk county department of parks who is
appointed as a Suffolk county park police officer.
(s) A university police officer appointed by the state university
pursuant to paragraph 1 of subdivision two of section three hundred
fifty-five of the education law.
(t) A sworn officer of the department of public safety of the Buffalo
municipal housing authority who has achieved or been granted the status
of sworn police officer and has been certified by the division of
criminal justice services as successfully completing an approved basic
course for police officers.
(u) Persons appointed as Indian police officers pursuant to section
one hundred fourteen of the Indian law.
(v) Supervisor of forest ranger services; assistant supervisor of
forest ranger services; forest ranger 3; forest ranger 2; forest ranger
1 employed by the state department of environmental conservation or
sworn officer of the division of forest protection and fire management
in the department of environmental conservation responsible for wild
land search and rescue, wild land fire management in the state as
prescribed in subdivision eighteen of section 9-0105 and title eleven of
article nine of the environmental conservation law, exercising care,
custody and control of state lands administered by the department of
environmental conservation.
58.-a. “Geographical area of employment.” The “geographical area of employment” of certain police officers is as follows:
* (a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdivision, New
York state constitutes the “geographical area of employment” of any
police officer employed as such by an agency of the state or by an
authority which functions throughout the state, or a police officer
designated by the superintendent of state police pursuant to section two
hundred twenty-three of the executive law;
* NB Effective until September 1, 2015
* (a) Except as provided in paragraph (d), New York state constitutes
the “geographical area of employment” of any police officer employed as
such by an agency of the state or by an authority which functions
throughout the state;
* NB Effective September 1, 2015
(b) A county, city, town or village, as the case may be, constitutes
the “geographical area of employment” of any police officer employed as
such by an agency of such political subdivision or by an authority which
functions only in such political subdivision; and
(c) Where an authority functions in more than one county, the
“geographical area of employment” of a police officer employed thereby
extends through all of such counties.
(d) The geographical area of employment of a police officer appointed
by the state university is the campuses and other property of the state
university, including any portion of a public highway which crosses or
abuts such property.
59. “Commitment to the custody of the sheriff,” when referring to an
order of a court located in a county or city which has established a
department of correction, means commitment to the commissioner of
correction of such county or city.
60. “County” ordinarily means (a) any county outside of New York City
or (b) New York City in its entirety. Unless the context requires a
different construction, New York City, despite its five counties, is
deemed a single county within the meaning of the provisions of this
chapter in which that term appears.
61. “Lesser included offense.” When it is impossible to commit a
particular crime without concomitantly committing, by the same conduct,
another offense of lesser grade or degree, the latter is, with respect
to the former, a “lesser included offense.” In any case in which it is
legally possible to attempt to commit a crime, an attempt to commit such
crime constitutes a lesser included offense with respect thereto.
62. “Oath” includes an affirmation and every other mode authorized by
law of attesting to the truth of that which is stated.
63. “Petty offense” means a violation or a traffic infraction.
64. “Evidence in chief” means evidence, received at a trial or other
criminal proceeding in which a defendant’s guilt or innocence of an
offense is in issue, which may be considered as a part of the quantum of
substantive proof establishing or tending to establish the commission of
such offense or an element thereof or the defendant’s connection
therewith.
65. “Armed felony” means any violent felony offense defined in section
70.02 of the penal law that includes as an element either:
(a) possession, being armed with or causing serious physical injury by
means of a deadly weapon, if the weapon is a loaded weapon from which a
shot, readily capable of producing death or other serious physical
injury may be discharged; or
(b) display of what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun,
machine gun or other firearm.
66. “Juvenile offender” means (1) a person, thirteen years old who is
criminally responsible for acts constituting murder in the second degree
as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 of the penal
law, or such conduct as a sexually motivated felony, where authorized
pursuant to section 130.91 of the penal law; and (2) a person fourteen
or fifteen years old who is criminally responsible for acts constituting
the crimes defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 (murder
in the second degree) and in subdivision three of such section provided
that the underlying crime for the murder charge is one for which such
person is criminally responsible; section 135.25 (kidnapping in the
first degree); 150.20 (arson in the first degree); subdivisions one and
two of section 120.10 (assault in the first degree); 125.20
(manslaughter in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of section
130.35 (rape in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of section
130.50 (criminal sexual act in the first degree); 130.70 (aggravated
sexual abuse in the first degree); 140.30 (burglary in the first
degree); subdivision one of section 140.25 (burglary in the second
degree); 150.15 (arson in the second degree); 160.15 (robbery in the
first degree); subdivision two of section 160.10 (robbery in the second
degree) of the penal law; or section 265.03 of the penal law, where such
machine gun or such firearm is possessed on school grounds, as that
phrase is defined in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of the penal
law; or defined in the penal law as an attempt to commit murder in the
second degree or kidnapping in the first degree, or such conduct as a
sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursuant to section 130.91
of the penal law.
67. “Judicial hearing officer” means a person so designated pursuant
to provisions of article twenty-two of the judiciary law.