(a) A person is guilty of creating a public disturbance when, with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he (1) engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior; or (2) annoys or interferes with another person by offensive conduct; or (3) makes unreasonable noise.
(b) Creating a public disturbance is an infraction.
(P.A. 83-276, S. 2; P.A. 92-260, S. 69.)
History: P.A. 92-260 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change.
Cited. 228 C. 795; 243 C. 115.
No right to jury trial. 9 CA 255. Cited. 12 CA 258; 24 CA 195; Id., 541; 28 CA 344; 32 CA 656; judgment reversed in part, see 232 C. 345. Classification by legislature of infractions as noncriminal acts payable by fine operates as a presumption that infractions do not constitute criminal offenses for purposes of double jeopardy analysis, albeit one that is rebuttable by clear proof to the contrary; protections afforded by federal double jeopardy clause were not implicated by trial court's erroneous sua sponte dismissal of charge against defendant when trial court plainly did not evaluate the state's evidence and failed to make a determination that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain a conviction. 134 CA 346.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 237 C. 613.
“Offensive conduct” defined; legislative intent to proscribe conduct which actually involves physical violence or portends imminent physical violence. 12 CA 481. Cited. 36 CA 625; judgment reversed, see 237 C. 613. Language in Subdivs. (1) and (2) is similar to that of disorderly conduct statute in Sec. 53a-182, and therefore, based on prior court interpretations of Sec. 53a-182, is not facially vague. 134 CA 175.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
29
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1986–2024 · leading case:
State v. Lo Sacco, 531 A.2d 184 (Conn. App. Ct. 1987).
State v. Lo Sacco, 531 A.2d 184 (Conn. App. Ct. 1987).
· cites it 27× “The defendant 1 appeals from his conviction, after a trial to the court, on two informations, each charging the infraction of creating a public disturbance in violation of General Statutes § 53a-181a. The two charges arose out of incidents occurring on separate days, June…”
State v. Indrisano, 640 A.2d 986 (Conn. 1994).
· cites it 12× “Lo Sacco, supra, construed “violent or threatening behavior”; General Statutes § 53a-181a (a); to mean “conduct which actually involves physical violence or portends imminent physical violence.”
State v. Winot, 988 A.2d 188 (Conn. 2010).
· cites it 8× “” Consequently, under the unique factual circumstances presented by this case, even if the defendant’s restraint of the victim also could be found to constitute the “violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior” proscribed by our statutes criminalizing creation of a public…”
State v. Jimenez-jaramill, 38 A.3d 239 (Conn. App. Ct. 2012).
· cites it 19× “The state of Connecticut appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing the charge of creating a public disturbance in violation of General Statutes § 53a-181a brought against the defendant, Luis Jimenez-Jaramill.”
State v. Taveras, 193 A.3d 561 (Conn. App. Ct. 2018).
· cites it 5× “2d 568 (1987), to identical language contained in General Statutes § 53a-181a (a) (1), the public disturbance statute.”
State v. Szymkiewicz, 678 A.2d 473 (Conn. 1996).
· cites it 4× “481 ,] construed ‘violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior’; General Statutes § 53a-181a (a); 10 to mean ‘conduct which actually involves physical violence or portends imminent physical violence.”
State v. McCahill, 811 A.2d 667 (Conn. 2002).
· cites it 2× “…Statutes § 53a-63); reckless endangerment in the second degree (General Statutes § 53a-64); riot in the first degree (General Statutes § 53a-175); breach of the peace (General Statutes § 53a-181); creating apublic disturbance (General Statutes § 53a-181a); stalking in the…”
State v. Caracoglia, 38 A.3d 226 (Conn. App. Ct. 2012).
· cites it 9× “The self-represented defendant, Salvatore Caracoglia, appeals from the judgment of conviction of two counts of the infraction of creating a public disturbance in violation of General Statutes § 53a-181a (a) (1) and (2), respectively.”
In Re Jeremy M., 918 A.2d 944 (Conn. App. Ct. 2007).
· cites it 4× “2d 568 (1987), to identical language contained in General Statutes § 53a-181a (a) (1), the public disturbance statute.”
State v. Sebastian, 701 A.2d 13 (Conn. 1997).
· cites it 4× “After the trial court denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss, which challenged the court’s subject matter jurisdiction over his arrest and prosecution, the defendant entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere under General Statutes § 54-94a and Practice Book § 4003 5 to a…”
Davis v. Comm'r of Corr., 198 Conn. App. 345 (Conn. App. Ct. 2020).
· cites it 3× “2d 184 (evidence that defendant placed hands in victim’s car window and leaned in to yell at her was conduct, not speech, that served as basis for charge of creating public disturbance in violation of General Statutes § 53a-181a, which is similar to breach of peace), cert.”
State v. Weisser, 518 A.2d 655 (Conn. App. Ct. 1986).
· cites it 4× “Concerning the second claim of a right to a trial by jury, we note that General Statutes § 53a-181a is a literal transposing of the introductory language and first three sections of the disorderly conduct statute, General Statutes § 53a-182. This creation of an exact replica of…”
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181a(5) — 1 case
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181a(a) — 1 case
State v. Winot, 988 A.2d 188 (Conn. 2010).
“” Consequently, under the unique factual circumstances presented by this case, even if the defendant’s restraint of the victim also could be found to constitute the “violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior” proscribed by our statutes criminalizing creation of a public…”
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181a(a)(1) — 1 case
State v. Winot, 988 A.2d 188 (Conn. 2010).
“” Consequently, under the unique factual circumstances presented by this case, even if the defendant’s restraint of the victim also could be found to constitute the “violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior” proscribed by our statutes criminalizing creation of a public…”
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181a(a)(3) — 1 case
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