Urinating in Public
Being charged with urinating in public can be embarrassing even if people do not believe that it is that big of a deal. Nobody wants a charge like this on their record, which is why having an experienced attorney by your side is very valuable.
Typically when someone is caught urinating in public they are charged with a violation of California Penal Code §370 or §372. This section of the Penal Code states that anything that is injurious to health, or is indecent, or offensive to the senses, which interferes with someone else’s comfortable enjoyment of life or property is a misdemeanor. Experienced lawyers like those at Hoffman & Associates can help get this embarrassing charge off your record.
Urinating in public is commonly committed offense and typically occurs at campgrounds, outside nightclubs, or in residential areas. However, this offense can carry a maximum punishment of 6 months in jail and/or a $500 fine.
The attorneys at Hoffman & Associates, with over 30 years of experience, can help get these charges dismissed or reduced. There are many resources available in order to get alternative sentencing options or diversion programs if clients agree to attend counseling, go to Alcohol Anonymous meetings, or participate in community service.
A skillful attorney will bring in positive information about their client’s background and persuade a prosecutor to either dismiss the charge or reduce it to an infraction, which does not describe the embarrassing conduct and does not appear on the persons record. There are many options available to people charged with this offense that may not be apparent, but can create alternatives to punishment.
Although being charged with urinating in public may not seem like a big deal, it is wise to contact a knowledgeable attorney, like those at Hoffman & Associates, to get this charge reduced or taken off your record.
California Penal Code §370: Anything which is injurious to health, or is indecent, or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by an entire community or neighborhood, or by any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway, is a public nuisance.
California Penal Code §372: Every person who maintains or commits any public nuisance, the punishment for which is not otherwise prescribed, or who willfully omits to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a public nuisance, is guilty of a misdemeanor.