Colorado’s disorderly conduct statute, CRS § 18-9-106, covers a range of public conduct — from fighting in public to brandishing a firearm to cause alarm. Depending on what’s alleged, the charge can range from a petty offense up to a class 1 misdemeanor. [ATTORNEY TO VERIFY: confirm current statute language and penalty tiers.]
What counts as disorderly conduct under Colorado law?
CRS § 18-9-106 prohibits several categories of conduct in public, including fighting, making unreasonable noise, using fighting words likely to provoke violence, and displaying a firearm in a way intended to and that does cause alarm. The specific act alleged determines the severity of the charge. [ATTORNEY TO VERIFY]
What are the penalties for disorderly conduct in Colorado?
Penalties vary by conduct. Fighting in a public place is typically charged as a petty offense. Displaying what appears to be a firearm to cause alarm is generally a class 2 misdemeanor. More serious conduct can be charged as a class 1 misdemeanor, Colorado’s most serious misdemeanor level. [ATTORNEY TO VERIFY: exact current fine and jail exposure for each tier.]
Can brandishing a firearm lead to a disorderly conduct charge?
Yes. Displaying, or representing that you have, a deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm can be charged as disorderly conduct, separate from any weapons-specific charge. The circumstances and intent behind the display matter significantly to how the case is handled. [ATTORNEY TO VERIFY]
Has the disorderly conduct statute survived constitutional challenge?
Older versions of this statute did not. The Colorado Supreme Court struck down earlier versions of the offensive-gesture and fighting-words subsections as unconstitutionally overbroad in the 1970s and 1990s. However, checking the official 2025 Colorado Criminal Jury Instructions against the statute’s current, legislatively-narrowed subsections (coarse and obviously offensive conduct that tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace; unreasonable noise; fighting in public; firearm discharge; firearm display to alarm) turned up no case-law annotations tied to those two older overbreadth rulings for the operative language today. [ATTORNEY TO VERIFY: the two older overbreadth cases do not appear in the official 2025 COLJI-Crim annotations for this statute’s current subsections — confirm whether they still have any defense value for this statute as currently written, or whether they address since-amended language that no longer applies.]
How can a disorderly conduct charge be fought in Colorado?
Common defenses include challenging whether the conduct actually occurred in a “public place” as the statute requires, disputing intent, and raising free-speech protections where the charge is based on words rather than conduct — protections the Colorado Supreme Court has already used to strike down parts of this statute once. No outcome can be promised in any individual case; results depend entirely on the specific facts and evidence involved.
Talk to a Denver criminal defense attorney
A disorderly conduct charge can range from a minor citation to a serious misdemeanor depending on the facts alleged. Contact Mile High Legal for a consultation to discuss your situation.
