Disorderly Conduct Defense Lawyers In Lansing And East Lansing, MI
Last updated on October 2, 2025
Drunk and disorderly, or disorderly conduct, is codified under MCL 750.167.
A disorderly individual is a person who is intoxicated in a public place and/or who is either endangering directly the safety of another person or of property or is acting in a manner that causes a public disturbance. A disorderly person is also one who is engaged in indecent or obscene conduct in a public place. Either one of these could apply to someone who urinates in public.
Anyone who disturbs the public peace and quiet by loud or boisterous conduct or by engaging in any disturbance, fight, brawl or quarrel in any public place could also end up with a disorderly conduct charge.
Contact Bahrie Law, PLLC by calling 888-473-1289 for comprehensive representation.
What Is Considered Disorderly Conduct in Michigan?
Behavior that can result in a charge of disorderly conduct includes:
- Talking back to a police officer.
- Being involved in a fight.
- Breaking a glass bottle.
- Urinating in public.
- Any behavior that involves consuming alcohol and bad behavior.
Disorderly Conduct In East Lansing
Students at Michigan State University can face criminal charges for disorderly conduct as well as consequences from the school. East Lansing City Ordinance Sec. 26-52 considers the following to be disorderly conduct, among other offenses:
- Public intoxication that endangers the safety of other people or property
- Public urination, defecation or spitting
- Rioting or assembling with four or more individuals to destruct public or private property
- Knowingly remaining on any public property after an announcement has been made that such assembly is unlawful
According to the city ordinance, disorderly conduct can carry sentencing of up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $500. Depending on your case, you may face fines or jail – sometimes a combination of both.
Bahrie Law, PLLC Offers Clients Aggressive Representation
If you have been charged with disorderly conduct or a comparable crime, consult with Bahrie Law, PLLC immediately. A conviction, especially a criminal one, can have very serious repercussions and end up making life more difficult for a long time to come. We will review the charges, review your case, and review your records.
Based on that, we will fight to dismiss the charges, negotiate a plea bargain, or fight the charge all the way to trial. Speaking to an attorney today is going to be the best course to ensure your rights are protected, as well as make certain that the strongest possible defense is presented for your case.
Disorderly conduct information from Michigan Municord Library
- Sec. 26-52(1) (26.52(1)) – Prohibited acts.
No person shall:
26-52 (1) (26.52(1)): Be intoxicated in a public place and be endangering directly the safety of another person or property. A peace officer who has reasonable cause to believe a person has violated this subsection may ask the person to consent to a preliminary chemical breath analysis or other acceptable blood alcohol test. The results are admissible in a prosecution to determine whether the person was intoxicated. A person whose body alcohol content is equal to or greater than 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters of blood, per 200 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine, at the time of testing shall be presumed to be intoxicated.
26-52(2) (26.52(2)): Willfully expose one’s buttocks or genitalia in any public place.
26-52(3) (26.52(3)): Discharge any firearms, air rifle, or slingshot, nor shall any person have any air rifle or sling shot in their possession in any street, or park, except the same be securely wrapped or encased.
26-52(4) (26.52(4)): Engage in peeping in the windows of any inhabited place or prowl about the private premises of any other person without authority or the permission of the owner of such premises.
26-52(6) (26.52(6)): Swim or bathe in the nude in any public place.
26-62(7) (26.52(7)): Willfully and intentionally accost/molest, either by touching or by word of mouth, or by sign or motion, any person in any public place with intent to interfere with or abuse that person.
26-52(8) (26.52(8)): Urinate or defecate on any street, sidewalk, alley, park, parkway, parking lot or structure, public carrier, or upon any public building or place of public assemblage or upon any other public or private property of another open to public view, or upon any private property of another without the consent of the owner, except where an approved sanitary facility is provided and used.
26-52(9) (26.52(9)): Disturb the public peace and quiet by engaging in any fight or brawl in any public place.
26-52(10) (26.52(10)): Assemble or act in concert with four or more other persons for the purpose of engaging in conduct constituting the crime of riot, or be present at any assembly that either has or develops such a purpose and remain thereat with intent to advance such purpose. For purposes of this section, a person, other than an on-duty law enforcement officer, remains at a riot with the intent to advance its purpose if they participate in the riot by committing or attempting to commit any of the following acts:
26-52(10)a. (26.52(10)a): Throwing or propelling or causing to be propelled any object of sufficient weight or of dangerous or noxious substance to cause harm to a person or property which includes, but is not limited to, discharging fire extinguishers or deploying fireworks as defined by MCL 750.243a(1)(a).
26-52(10)b (26.52(10)b).: Damaging, destroying, injuring or defacing any public property or private property not their own.
26-52(10)c (26.52(10)c).: Meddling with any deployed riot control agent.
26-52(10d) (26.52(10)d.): Pushing or running through a police line for the purpose of obstructing the police in the discharge of their lawful duties.
26-52(10)e (26.52(10)e).: Remaining on a street, sidewalk or other public property where a riot control agent has been deployed within that area or returning to said street or sidewalk or other public property within two hours after a riot control agent has been deployed in that area other than to directly traverse the area to get to a destination outside of the area.
26-52(10)f. (26.52(10)f.): Remaining on a street, sidewalk or other public property after a public announcement has been made over a loud speaker that an assembly on that street, sidewalk or that public property is an unlawful assembly or returning to a street or sidewalk or other public property within two hours after such an announcement has been made other than to directly traverse the area to get to a destination outside of the area.
26-52(10)g (26.52(10)g.): Starting a fire or placing combustible items onto a fire.
26-52(13) (26.52(13)): Knowingly attend, frequent, or operate any place where prostitution, gambling, the illegal sale of intoxicating liquor, controlled substances, or any other illegal business or occupation is permitted or conducted. Gambling includes, but is not limited to: keeping or maintaining a gaming room, gaming table, or any policy or pool tickets, used for gaming; knowingly suffering a gaming room, gaming tables, or any policy or pool tickets to be kept, maintained, played, or sold on any premises occupied or controlled by him/her except as permitted by law; conducting or attending any cock fight or dog fight; or placing, receiving, or transmitting any bet on the outcome of any race, contest, or game of any kind whatsoever.
26-52(18) (26.52(18)): Physically obstruct, resist or hinder any member of the police force, any peace officer, or firefighter in the discharge of their lawful duties.
26-52(20) (26.52(20)): Knowingly summon, without any good reason therefor, by telephone or otherwise, the police or the fire department or any public or private ambulance to go to any address where the service called for is not needed.
26-52(22) (26.52(22)): Throw or propel any snowball, missile or object toward any person or automobile with the intent to cause injury or harm to persons or property or cause any glass object to break or shatter on any public street, sidewalk, or place of public travel.
26-52(23) (26.52(23)): Discharge a fire extinguisher in public or on the premises or in the residence of another, without permission of the owner or occupant thereof, other than with the intent to extinguish a fire.
26-52(25) (26.52(25)): Make a false report, by telephone or otherwise, to any public official which may be reasonably expected to cause the evacuation or closing of a building or place open to the public.
26-52(26) (26.52(26)): Impersonate a police officer, firefighter, or housing, building or zoning code enforcer for the purpose of gaining entry to private property, or access to private records, or access to public records which would not otherwise be subject to public disclosure under the law.
26-52(27) (26.52(27)): Invite, entice, coax, persuade, or induce by threat, any minor child under the age of 17 years to enter any motor vehicle, or conveyance, or private property or place, except where the parent or guardian of said child has given that person his/her express prior consent; this section shall not prohibit school personnel, peace officers, or public health, or social welfare personnel from carrying out the normal duties of their employment.
26-52(29) (26.52(29)): Furnish to a peace officer false, forged, fictitious, or misleading verbal or written information either identifying the person as another person or falsely misrepresenting a material fact about the person including, but not limited to, the person’s date of birth or correct spelling of their full name, if the person is detained for a violation of the law, is temporarily detained for the purpose of issuance of an appearance ticket or civil infraction citation, or has an outstanding warrant for their arrest.
26-52(30) (26.52(30)): Furnish or use any false, fraudulent, or misleading verbal or written information identifying the person or his/her age to any agent or employee of any licensed establishment which sells or furnishes alcoholic liquor for the purpose of purchasing or consuming alcoholic liquor or to gain entry to the establishment. Any written information which the licensee or his/her agent or employee has reasonable suspicion to believe is false, fraudulent, or misleading shall be seized by the licensee and delivered to the East Lansing Police Department no later than 12:00 p.m. of the next business day following seizure. A suitable sign describing this section shall be posted in a conspicuous place in each room of the establishment.
26-52(31) (26.52(31)): Knowingly or intentionally remaining on a public sidewalk, public street, private property open to the public, or the unenclosed private property of another within 300 feet of a structure fire, vehicle fire, or unlawful fire, after a fire or police official determines a public danger exists and orders individuals to vacate the area and a reasonable period of time has elapsed which permits individuals to leave the area. No person shall remain on a public sidewalk, public street, private property open to the public or unenclosed private property of another between a fire truck parked adjacent to a structure fire, vehicle fire or unlawful fire that fire officials are seeking to contain after being ordered to vacate the area.
26-52(31)a (26.52(31)a): These provisions do not apply to persons attempting to put out or contain the fire prior to the arrival of police or firefighting personnel.
26-52(31)b. (26.52(31)b.): These provisions do not apply to firefighters, other emergency personnel and police officers discharging their duties, or to persons traveling directly to or from a structure out of a necessity.
26-52(31)c. (26.52(31)c): These provisions do not apply to persons to whom any on duty fire or police official has given express permission to remain unless that permission is revoked by the on-site fire incident commander or on-site supervisor of the police department.
26-52(31)d. (26.52(31)d.): For purposes of these provisions, an unlawful fire does not include any cooking fire contained in a grill designed for that purpose on private property or any fire that is in a contained outdoor fireplace on private property. An unlawful fire does not include lit lighters, lit matches or lit candles or lawfully deployed emergency flares used for their intended purpose, but it does include all other fires, flames or combustible materials not authorized by law and lit matches and lighters used in an attempt to ignite an unlawful fire.
26-52 (32) (26.52 (32)): Direct a verbal, physical or electronic act against the person, family or property of any individual who complains of or witnesses a violation of the East Lansing City Code for the purpose of intimidating or retaliating against that person for the exercise of the right to complain or testify to a violation of this Code.
26-52 (33) (26.52 (33)): Being an employee of a licensed liquor establishment, knowingly allow admittance of a person less than 21 years of age into said establishment, or allow admittance by failure to make a diligent inquiry as to whether the person is less than 21 years of age, at any time when the liquor establishment’s special use permit or official policy prohibits entry of that person. For purposes of this subsection an official policy shall mean a policy on file with the East Lansing Police Department and posted at the entrance to the establishment specifying at what times persons under 21 years of age are not allowed in the establishment.
(Code 1994, ch. 108, § 9.102; Ord. No. 1010, ch. 108, § 9.102(1)—(6), (8)—(19), (21)—(32), (36)—(38), 4-16-2002; Ord. No. 1138, 3-26-2006; Ord. No. 1216, 3-17-2009; Ord. No. 1309, 10-15-2013; Ord. No. 1358, 2-23-2016; Ord. No. 1372, 6-7-2016; Ord. No. 1491, 12-1-2020)
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Call us at 888-473-1289 and receive a free evaluation of your case. We frequently represent Michigan State University (MSU) students who are facing disorderly conduct charges and other criminal charges.