Michigan Criminal Attorneys Blog
The following are misdemeanor offenses against public peace and order that are regularly prosecuted by the Clawson Michigan city attorney under the Clawson Michigan local ordinances (These offenses can also be prosecuted under corresponding State laws as well by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office). The section (Sec.) numbers listed below are from the Clawson Criminal Code.
Sec 46-181. Disturbing the Peace Generally. Any person who shall make or assist in making any noise, disturbance or improper diversion, or any rout or riot, or ring or sound any gong, by which the peace and good order of the neighborhood are disturbed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec 46-182. Disorderly house. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit any noisy or riotous persons to assemble in any house owned, occupied or controlled by him or her, to the annoyance or disturbance of the neighborhood and the public peace.
Sec 46-183. Diverting attention from school activities. Any person who shall by his acts, words, conduct or mere presence unlawfully divert or unlawfully tend to divert the attention of pupils, teachers, or other persons from the normal instructional program of a public or private school shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec 46-184. Disturbance in business or public place or of lawful meetings. Any person who shall make or excite any disturbance or contention in any tavern, store, or grocery, manufacturing establishment or any other business place or in any street, lane, alley, highway, public building, grounds or park, or at any election or other public meeting where citizens are peacefully and lawfully assembled, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. State law reference – similar provisions, MCL 750.170.
Sec 46-185. Breach of peace. (a) Behavior. No person shall engage in any behavior that is reasonably calculated to cause an immediate breach of the peace. (b) Language. No person shall use any language that is reasonably calculated to cause an immediate breach of the peace.
Sec 46-186. Disturbance of religious worship. It shall be unlawful for any person to disturb or disquiet any congregation or assembly met for religious worship by making any noise or making any profane discourse or engaging in any indecent behavior in or near the place of worship as to disturb the solemnity of the meeting. State law reference – Disturbance of religious worship, MCL 750.169, 752.525.
Sec 46-187. Noise. (a) Prohibited generally. The creation of any unreasonable, loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in this city is hereby prohibited. Noises of such character, intensity and duration as are reasonably calculated to be detrimental to the life or health of any ordinary reasonable person are prohibited.
Sec 46-188. Loitering. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter in or about any street, sidewalk, overpass or other public place when ordered to clear such public way by the city police or other lawful activity. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to linger, loiter, sit, or stand in any street or public way, or in any public room in any hotel, motel, office or business establishment in the city, or any courthouse corridor, or any bus or railroad station, or in the hallways or entrances of any public building, or to use any public room for business or social purposes, or to obstruct the entrance to any business establishment, without doing so for some lawful purpose, or if contrary to the expressed wish of the owner, lessee, managing agent, or person in control or charge of the building or premises. The words “public rooms” for the purpose of this section, include any basement, attic, building entrance or doorway, lobby, hallway, stairway, mezzanine, elevator, foyer, public restroom, sitting room or any other place used in common by the public, tenants, occupants, guests or customers, and situated in a hotel, motel, office building, public building or business establishment in the city. (c) The term “loitering” for the purpose of this section, shall mean the act of standing or idling so as to hinder, obstruct or impede or tend to hinder, obstruct or impede the passage of pedestrians or vehicles. State law reference _Loiters defined as disorderly persons, MCL 750.167.
Sec 46-189. Fighting. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior.
Sec 46-190. Unlawful assembly. It shall be unlawful and shall constitute an unlawful assembly for a person to assemble or act in concert with four or more persons for the purpose of engaging in conduct constituting the crime of riot, or to be present at an assembly that either has or develops such a purpose and to remain at such assembly with the intent to advance such purpose. State law reference – similar provisions, MCL 752.543.
Sec 46-191. Riot. It shall be unlawful and shall constitute the crime of riot for five or more persons, acting in concert, or wrongfully engage in violent conduct and thereby intentionally or recklessly cause or create a serious risk of causing public terror or alarm. State law reference – similar provisions, MCL 752.541.
Sec 46-192. Incitement to riot. It shall be unlawful and shall constitute incitement to riot for a person, intending to cause or to aid or abet the institution or maintenance of a riot, to do an act or engage in conduct that urges other persons to commit acts of unlawful force or violence, or the unlawful burning or destroying of property, or the unlawful interference with a police officer, peace officer, firefighter or a member of the National Guard or any unit of the armed services officially assigned to riot duty in the lawful performance of his duty. State law reference – similar provisions, MCL 752.542.
Sec 46-193. Begging and soliciting alms.
Sec 46-194. Indecent exposure. A person who commits the offense of indecent exposure if he makes an open and indecent exposure of his person under circumstances in which he knows or should know that his conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm. State law reference – similar provisions, MCL 750.335a.
Sec 46-195. Window peeping. A person commits the offense of window peeping if he looks, peers or peeps into any window on the property of another person under circumstances in which he knows or should know that such conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm. State law reference – similar provisions, MCL 750.167.
Sec 46-196. Curfew for underage persons. It is unlawful for any minor 17 years of age or younger to be in any public place between 10:30 pm and 5:30 am. unless with a parent/guardian without stop or detour, on an errand at the direction of parent/guardian, in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel, engaged in an employment activity (or going to or returning home from employment) without detour or stop, involved in an emergency, attending an activity (official school, religious, or recreational activity supervised by adults without detour or stop), exercising First Amendment rights, is married, or is legally emancipated. It is unlawful for the parent/guardian to allow any child to violate the provisions of this section. It is unlawful for the owner, operator, employee of an establishment to knowingly allow a minor to remain upon the premises in violation of this Section. It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the police department that a minor was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave. State law reference – Curfew for children, MCL 722.751.
Sec 46-197. Open house parties. A person under 21 years of age shall knowingly attend, frequent or be an occupant of a residence, premises or area where the illegal consumption or possession of any alcoholic beverage or controlled substance by other persons under the legal age is being allowed to or knowingly attend, frequent or be an occupant of a residence, premises or an area where the illegal consumption or possession of any alcoholic beverage or controlled substance is taking place. This section shall not apply to legally protected religious purposes or medical purposes. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec 46-198. Host parties. It shall be unlawful for any person having control of any residence, premises or area to allow illegal consumption of any alcoholic beverage or controlled substance to take place or to continue once it has begun at that residence, premises or area or fail to take corrective action, when the person knows or reasonably should know an alcoholic liquor or controlled substance is being or has been possessed or consumed at the residence, premises or are by a person illegally or by a person less than 21 years of age. This section shall not apply to protected religious purposes or medical purposes. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec 46-199. Rebuttable presumption. Evidence of all of the following gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that the Defendant allowed the illegal consumption or possession of an alcoholic beverage or a controlled substance on or within a residence, premises, or other real property, in violation of this section: (1) the Defendant had control over the premises, residence, or other real property; (2) The Defendant know that a person less than 21 years of age was consuming or in possession of an alcoholic beverage or knew that an individual was consuming or in possession of a controlled substance on or within that premises, residence, or other real property. (3) The Defendant failed to take corrective action.
Sec. 1-7. General penalty; continuing violations. (a) In this section, the words “violation of this Code” mean any of the following:
(1) Doing an act that is prohibited or made or declared unlawful, an offense, a violation, a misdemeanor or a municipal civil infraction by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance.
(2) Failure to perform an act that is required to be performed by ordinance, or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance.
(3) Failure to perform an act if the failure is prohibited or is made or declared unlawful, an offense, a violation, a misdemeanor, or a municipal civil infraction by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance.
(b) In this section the words “violation of this Code” include causing, securing, aiding or abetting a violation of this Code as defined in subsection (a) of this section.
(b) In this section, the words “violation of this Code” do not include the failure of a city officer or city employee to perform an official duty unless it is specifically provided that the failure to perform the duty is to be punished as provided in this section.
(d) Except as otherwise provided by law or ordinance, a person convicted of a violation of this Code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00, imprisonment for a period not more than 90 days, or both; However, unless otherwise provided by law, a person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this Code that substantially corresponds to a violation of State law that is a misdemeanor for which the maximum period of imprisonment is 93 days shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00, imprisonment for a term of not more than 93 days, or both. A person convicted of a violation of this Code shall be responsible for costs. The penalty in this subsection does not apply to any municipal civil infraction.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by law or ordinance, with respect to violations of this Code that are continuous with respect to time, each day that the violation continues is a separate offense. As to theory violations, each violation constitutes a separate offense.
(f) The city of Clawson is entitled to recover the cost of investigating and prosecuting a violation from the person convicted of a violation of this Code. The city of Clawson is entitled to recover Court costs from any person convicted of a violation of this Code.
(g) The imposition of a penalty does not prevent suspension or revocation of a license, permit, or franchise or other administrative sanctions.
(h) Violations of this Code that are continuous with respect to time are a public nuisance and may be abated by injunctive or other equitable relief. The imposition of a penalty does not prevent injunctive relief or civil or quasi-judicial enforcement. (Code 1978, section 1-6). State law reference, penalty for ordinance violations, MCL 117.3(k), 117.4i; municipal civil infractions, MCL 117.4l, 600.8701 et seq.
Sec. 46-2. State law misdemeanors. Every act prohibited by State law as a misdemeanor is prohibited, and whoever violates the provisions of this section within the city of Clawson shall, upon conviction, be punished by the same penalty provided by State law, except the penalty shall, in no case, exceed the maximum authorized for an ordinance violation.
When charged with a criminal offense in Clawson Michigan it is important to hire an experienced criminal lawyer to assist you. Criminal misdemeanor offenses that allegedly occur in Clawson are prosecuted at the 52-4th Division District Court, which is located at 520 W. Big Beaver Road in Troy, Michigan 48084. An experienced criminal lawyer may be able to help you avoid a criminal conviction and a harsh result, depending upon the circumstances of your case.
There are many lawyers who claim to do more than what they are able – just as there are many surgeons in the world that are no better than butchers. Do not settle for a legal hack job. Practicing law is a skill that develops over time with experience, commitment, dedication, and God given talent. There are no amateur attorneys at Hilf & Hilf, PLC – only professionals that are guided by the humanity in the individuals we serve, and the drive not to settle for what is easy over what is right.