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disturbing the peace

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puckfan

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
CA.

Last night my neighbor called police around 11:30 and files a citizens arrest . The situation is ; about 1 months ago , my glass shower door fell off of its track and maintenance was not in so I attempted to fix it myself . My neighbor felt the attempted repair was making too much noise and called police who responded and said they heard some noise from inside. No citation was issued at the time.
The door has not been repaired yet and last night around 11:00 it fell off again . This time I was able to attatch it much quicker but once again the police were called . The police arrived and said that they heard no noise however the neighbor was filing a citizens arrest, and since they had been called out before, they were going to believe the neighbor.
Been at the same apt for 14 years and have not had a single complaint .
Any advise on how to solve this. I have already spoke to management and they apologized and said they will come out this week and properly fix the door .
There is an arraignment in March .
Thanks for any help
 
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The Occultist

Senior Member
Any advise on how to solve this.
Yes, stop trying to do noisy repairs at times that are inappropriate to do so. The first interaction with law enforcement should have taught you your lesson, but it didn't, so I don't feel bad for you in the least.

You are guilty of the charges. If you wish to fight or otherwise mitigate this, you need the aid of an attorney (assuming it turns out that the costs of retaining such outweighs the costs of the fine itself). Local attorneys know best what the courts want to hear, and as such present the highest potential for yielding the most favorable results. Many attorneys offer free/cheap consultations, so it may be in your interest to sit down with a couple to see what insight they may have to offer.
 
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lenny71

Member
This is such a waste of the court's time it makes me sick.

I assume that there may be more to this story, but there used to be a time when a nieghbor would come over or call to complain about noise before calling the police. A citizen's arrest is serious business and can be detrimental to the filer. The police are officer's of the court and trained witnesses, your neighbor is not. I am wondering how loud putting on a shower door could be, and what are the noise ordinance's where you live.
 
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The Occultist

Senior Member
there used to be a time when a nieghbor would come over or call to complain about noise before calling the police.
It's unfortunate, but now we can't do things like that because you don't know who lives in that place of resident, and thus you do not know if that's the last time you'll see the skies again. :(
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
This is such a waste of the court's time it makes me sick.

I assume that there may be more to this story, but there used to be a time when a nieghbor would come over or call to complain about noise before calling the police. A citizen's arrest is serious business and can be detrimental to the filer. The police are officer's of the court and trained witnesses, your neighbor is not. I am wondering how loud putting on a shower door could be, and what are the noise ordinance's where you live.
City ordinances cannot override state law. If a person's peace is intentionally or knowingly being disturbed by loud and unreasonable noise, they have a right to make a citizen's arrest (which is usually a citation). The DA may decide not to file. We'll see.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
The police arrived and said that they heard no noise however the neighbor was filing a citizens arrest, and since they had been called out before, they were going to believe the neighbor.
It's not a matter of believing so much as it is a matter of state law. if the elements of the crime have minimally been met, then the officers are bound by law (and under criminal penalty) to accept the arrest.

Any advise on how to solve this. I have already spoke to management and they apologized and said they will come out this week and properly fix the door .
There is an arraignment in March .
Thanks for any help
There is a good chance the DA will not pursue the matter. But, it might be a good idea to consult an attorney just in case.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Well all i know is on Second Life if you did something like that then all you'd get is either a warning or be suspended for a certain number of days.

Often it's only a hour for the first offense,the second is usually three days,the third is permanet removal from Second Life,But many people learn their lesson before they get removed permantly.

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Violation: Community Standards: Disturbing the Peace, Scripted Objects
Region: Furnation vista
Description: Object littering
Action taken: Warning issued.

Second Life: Community Incident Management Report
Of course, the original poster does not live in an "on line virtual world" so it really doesn't matter.

- Carl
 
Often it's only a hour for the first offense,the second is usually three days,the third is permanet removal from Second Life,But many people learn their lesson before they get removed permantly.

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Violation: Community Standards: Disturbing the Peace, Scripted Objects
Region: Furnation vista
Description: Object littering
Action taken: Warning issued.

I think you just admitted on an advice board that you hang out with Furries. How do you expect anyone to take you seriously NOW?
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Acutally i'm a furry,i'm a red fox in SL, if you see a red fox in shortshorts then it would be me.

of course gonna get a new ethernet card soon,because the one i have right now is 56K,and that isn't enough for SL.

Because i see that there are some open PCI slots on my pc.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/werewolffan98/Snapshot_001-1.jpg
Did we just cross over and I didn't realize that my license gave me a right to practice law in Second Life? Is Second Life one of the United States?
 

pianosinger

Junior Member
I really would have liked to see a lawyer comment on this one.

First of all, just because a neighbor says something is to loud does not make it so....
If it was a shared wall and the neighbors heard, was right against a shared wall where you where working on the project then the sound could appear to be a lot louder then it truly was..... There is a word expectancy of reasonability. Was it really that loud? If he heard it because you left the window or door open. You should have closed it. Also there are two things you should be aware of**************

California code 415
DISTURBING THE PEACE
Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than 90 days, a fine of not more than four hundred dollars ($400), or both such imprisonment and fine:
1. Any person who unlawfully fights in a public place or challenges another person in a public place to fight.
2. Any person who maliciously and willfully disturbs another person by loud and unreasonable noise.
3. Any person who uses offensive words in a public place which are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.

Number 2 is the closest to what you did. But you were not being malicious or willful. As far as unreasonable, only you and your neighbor knows the truth. Now on citizens arrest in California. Unless you did this on public property or you were committing a felony (which last time I checked fixing glass was not a felony) citizen's arrest are not exceptionable.
Last time I checked disturbing the peace was not a felony. Oh by the way you can sue for false arrest.

You should have thought about how loud the work was and the time. But your neighbor sounds like a jerk. Any DA worth his pay check would not waste his time.

I am not a lawyer, but I researched this because I had a similar situation. It is a shame you have a nasty neighbor.



Knowledge Base: Citizen's Arrest
California Penal Code PEN Section 837

Citizens arrest only if it is a felony
California Penal Code mandates:
A private person may arrest another: 1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence. 2. When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence. 3. When a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it. (C.P.C. 837).


CITIZEN'S ARREST - from Study Guide
A citizen's arrest is a formal arrest by a citizen has no official government authority to make such an arrest as an agent of the government. The California Penal Code gives any citizen the right to make a citizen's arrest of another citizen in three alternative situations:

1. A public offense was committed or attempted in the citizen's presence.

2. The person arrested has committed a felony, although not in the citizen's presence.

3. A felony has been in fact committed and the citizen has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested has committed it.

Why do we need a statute like this? Why do we need a "citizen's arrest"? Well, as the crime rate goes up, it becomes more and more important that good citizens come to the aid of one another in distress. Without such a statute, only government agents, such as police, would have the authority to stop a felon in progress. By creating the "citizen's arrest" statute we give ordinary citizens the authority to hold another citizen without fear of being sued for false imprisonment. Without the statute, the citizen who interfered in criminal activity would risk such a lawsuit.

Even with such a statute, the citizen still risks being sued if he/she is wrong on his assessment of the situation. Notice that the statute requires that the "public offense" be in the citizen's presence, or that the person arrested have committed a "felony," that is, a crime punishable by one year or more in state prison. Do you know which crimes are punishable by one or more years in state prison? Can you be absolutely sure the person you are arresting is the one who committed the offense? What if there were three people involved? Can you be sure which one is the one you should arrest? At the very least, a defense lawyer is going to argue that the requirements for citizen's arrest were not met and that the arrest, and any consequent seizure of contraband, were illegal.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
First of all, just because a neighbor says something is to loud does not make it so....
Well, it makes it loud, it doesn't necessarily make it a crime. One of the elements of the offense is that it be willful and malicious.

Now on citizens arrest in California. Unless you did this on public property or you were committing a felony (which last time I checked fixing glass was not a felony) citizen's arrest are not exceptionable.
Last time I checked disturbing the peace was not a felony. Oh by the way you can sue for false arrest.
Yes, you can sue for false arrest (which is why the cops generally have the party making the arrest sign a document attesting to the arrest). A private person may make an arrest for a felony OR a misdemeanor.

A private person may make an arrest for any misdemeanor or infraction committed in the person's presence and for any felony as long as there is probable cause that the suspect committed it; in other words, the felony need not have been committed in the presence of the person making the arrest. Making noise in violation of PC 415 is a crime being committed in the party's presence thus it qualifies under PC 837.

Also note that it is a crime for an officer NOT to accept a private person's arrest.

You should have thought about how loud the work was and the time. But your neighbor sounds like a jerk. Any DA worth his pay check would not waste his time.
In most such cases, you are right - the DA would not file.

By creating the "citizen's arrest" statute we give ordinary citizens the authority to hold another citizen without fear of being sued for false imprisonment. Without the statute, the citizen who interfered in criminal activity would risk such a lawsuit.
The powers of arrest by a private person are almost identical to that of a peace officer with a few notable exceptions. And, in many instances, the powers of arrest of the ordinary citizen have been around longer than those specifically attributed to peace officers.

At the very least, a defense lawyer is going to argue that the requirements for citizen's arrest were not met and that the arrest, and any consequent seizure of contraband, were illegal.
Which is why there is always a risk associated with private person's arrests and they should be made only when it can be done with safety and when a crime has been committed. I have had people try and make citizen's arrests for "harassment" when a person has called them a name, flipped them off, or looked at them funny! I kid you not! Fortunately, I don't have to accept a private person's arrest for something that is not a crime.

- Carl
 
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searchlight

Junior Member
Disturbing the peace

Noisy repairs are always a problem,keep away from them or take permission from your neighbors prior to the task.Do not fret,if you have a good record then not much can be proved.If there was not any prior incident of such nature I mean....
 

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