Criminal Law Disorderly Conduct Business Travel

[tonycim]

I recently visited the US on business & holiday. I arrived in Manhattan on Friday evening, and joined some friends for a night out. On leaving a club at around 04.30 Saturday morning, I was pushed around by the doorman for no reason, I did not react violently & I didn't curse in any way. I asked not to be pushed around, and noticed there were a couple of NYPD officers standing outside, so asked them if they could get this doorman to back off. The officers told me to move along ... and as I did I commented "ok, don't shoot me" ... yes a stupid sarcastic comment which I probably shouldn't have made. However, next thing I knew they had me in hand cuffs and put me in the back of a police car! The whole time I was very polite, and didn't want to aggravate anyone, and asked to be released so that I could go back to my hotel. They took my name, and my hotel address, and after 10 minutes released me with a pink "summons" slip.

Being a UK citizen, I had / have no idea about US law, so went to see an attorney, who charged me $1000 and told me he would appear on my behalf to get the Disorderly Conduct charged lessened. As I was only there on holiday, I will not be around on the date of the court hearing/summons.

I have a few questions related to the above, and would really appreciate it if someone could give me their advice...

1) I visit the US every now and again (not Manhattan) for business, will the above disorderly conduct charge be recorded against my name anywhere? I mean when I enter the US on business, will they see from my name that I have had a disorderly conduct charge? (NO one took my passport number from me, and the officers even miss spelt my first name)

2) Do I need to declare the above as an arrest or anything else on my visa entry form (green slip) when I enter the US next time?

3) Will I have to go back to Manhattan to specifically appear in front of a court, or can the attorney do everything for me?

4) Could I have ignored the pink summons slip and just returned home, without any future repercussions for entry into the US?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[charlesesq]

You are far from the first person to have this happen to unfortunately. It's the officer's lame excuse for having a "fear" of a dangerous situation developing.

Before we even continue, let me ask you this -- why is your charge being "lessened" and not dismissed? If you are being charged with a crime, then it will be on your record. What did your attorney say with regard to the situation?

I can't tell you what would happen if you ignore the summons but I highly doubt it would vanish into thin air, unfortunately.

I recently visited the US on business & holiday. I arrived in Manhattan on Friday evening, and joined some friends for a night out. On leaving a club at around 04.30 Saturday morning, I was pushed around by the doorman for no reason, I did not react violently & I didn't curse in any way. I asked not to be pushed around, and noticed there were a couple of NYPD officers standing outside, so asked them if they could get this doorman to back off. The officers told me to move along ... and as I did I commented "ok, don't shoot me" ... yes a stupid sarcastic comment which I probably shouldn't have made. However, next thing I knew they had me in hand cuffs and put me in the back of a police car! The whole time I was very polite, and didn't want to aggravate anyone, and asked to be released so that I could go back to my hotel. They took my name, and my hotel address, and after 10 minutes released me with a pink "summons" slip.

Being a UK citizen, I had / have no idea about US law, so went to see an attorney, who charged me $1000 and told me he would appear on my behalf to get the Disorderly Conduct charged lessened. As I was only there on holiday, I will not be around on the date of the court hearing/summons.

I have a few questions related to the above, and would really appreciate it if someone could give me their advice...

1) I visit the US every now and again (not Manhattan) for business, will the above disorderly conduct charge be recorded against my name anywhere? I mean when I enter the US on business, will they see from my name that I have had a disorderly conduct charge? (NO one took my passport number from me, and the officers even miss spelt my first name)

2) Do I need to declare the above as an arrest or anything else on my visa entry form (green slip) when I enter the US next time?

3) Will I have to go back to Manhattan to specifically appear in front of a court, or can the attorney do everything for me?

4) Could I have ignored the pink summons slip and just returned home, without any future repercussions for entry into the US?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[tonycim]

Thanks for the reply

Charles

Thanks for your reply, I wasn't sure anyone would respond.

In reply to your question, the attorney will ask for the charge to be dismissed, as opposed to lessened, so sorry for my mistake.

Its amazing, I have never been in any form of "trouble" in my life from any authority, and having lived and worked in over 15 countries, that means a lot! Until I arrived in the US on vacation….

There are still questions in my mind, and I don't know who I can ask, without being "ripped-off" and paying even more $$$$, over such a stupid case (Im guilty of being sarcastic thats all!).

I don't know if the attorney I have is any good, all I can say is that he seemed to be very genuine. He told me that he knew the judge that was likely to be at the court hearing and that she "owed him one", which sounded like a bit of a sales pitch, but at the end of the day he said he could deal with this and "make it go away"… which was of course music to my ears!

I still don't / won't know if I am in the clear until the court hearing I guess, and I certainly don't want to have to fly to NY specifically to appear in a court (which apparently I may have to do, if the judge wants to see me face to face before deciding to dismiss the case).

I'll keep my fingers (and everything else) crossed until I know the result of the hearing.

Thanks again for the response.

 

[tonycim]

Conclusion

Just wanted to close this thread, by letting you all know what the outcome was. As mentioned, I paid $1000 for an attorney to represent me in court, since I could not be physically present (I am at home in the UK). When the allegations were read out, the judge apparently laughed, and after my attorney explained my situation, and argued against the accusation of disorderly conduct, the case was dismissed!

I'm glad to see that the American judicial system has a sense of humour, and that common sense and justice prevailed! For a while, I had lost faith in the US, and was feeling quite disgruntled with the NYPD! 2 months after they slammed the hand cuffs on my wrists, I still have numbness in my hand.... if only I had the time, money & balls to sue them....

Anyway this is the end of this thread as far as I am concerned. "Case Dismissed" !