Public Arguments
Defense for citations or arrests arising from disputes in public, bars, neighborhoods, businesses, schools, or events.
Wisconsin Criminal Defense Attorney
Madison Disorderly Conduct Lawyer
Avena Law Office, LLC defends disorderly conduct charges involving public arguments, bar incidents, school or student matters, domestic allegations, and misdemeanor criminal cases throughout Madison and South-Central Wisconsin.
Misdemeanor DefenseProtection against jail, probation, fines, and permanent record consequences.
Domestic Allegation StrategyDefense for cases involving no-contact issues and firearm consequences.
Student & Young Adult CasesFocused on school, housing, employment, and future opportunities.
Wisconsin Disorderly Conduct Law
Disorderly Conduct Charges Can Be Broad and Overcharged
Disorderly conduct is one of Wisconsin's broadest criminal charges. Police may use it after an argument, public disturbance, alleged fight, domestic call, or conduct that someone claims was loud, abusive, threatening, or disruptive.
Under Wisconsin Statute 947.01, the state must prove conduct that tends to cause or provoke a disturbance. Attorney Glenn E. Avena evaluates whether the facts actually meet the law, whether speech is protected, and whether the accusation is exaggerated or unsupported.
Types of Cases
Disorderly Conduct Defense for Common Wisconsin Situations
Domestic Disorderly Conduct
Representation for domestic-related allegations, no-contact orders, firearm concerns, and relationship disputes.
Student Incidents
Defense for high school, college, and university students facing criminal and school-related consequences.
Battery-Related Allegations
Strategic defense when disorderly conduct is charged alongside battery, resisting, obstruction, or bail jumping.
First Amendment Issues
Review of whether words, protest activity, or expressive conduct were improperly treated as criminal behavior.
Record Protection
Pursuit of dismissals, reductions, diversion, deferred agreements, and expungement eligibility where available.
Possible Defenses
How Avena Law Office Challenges Disorderly Conduct Charges
Defense may involve lack of intent, self-defense, protected speech, insufficient evidence, unreliable witnesses, inconsistent police reports, body-camera review, or showing that the alleged conduct did not tend to cause or provoke a disturbance under Wisconsin law.
The Law, In Plain Language
Wisconsin Disorderly Conduct, Defined
The core of the statute is one sentence long, and almost every word of it gets argued in court. Here is what the terms on your citation or complaint actually mean.
- Disorderly Conduct
- Engaging in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud, or otherwise disorderly conduct, under circumstances where that conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance. Both parts must be proven: the conduct itself, and its tendency to disturb. Wis. Stat. § 947.01
- Class B Misdemeanor
- The level at which criminal disorderly conduct is charged. The maximum penalty is 90 days in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. The lasting cost is usually not the penalty but the permanent, publicly searchable criminal record. Wis. Stat. § 939.51(3)(b)
- Ordinance Violation vs. Crime
- Madison and other cities also issue municipal disorderly conduct citations. Those are civil forfeitures — money, not jail, and not a crime. Wisconsin law draws the line plainly: a forfeiture is not a crime. Which version you were given changes everything about what is at stake. Wis. Stat. § 939.12
- Domestic Abuse Designation
- A domestic-abuse allegation changes the case. When the act is domestic abuse as Wisconsin defines it, a physical act against a spouse or former spouse, a person you live or used to live with, or the other parent of your child, police may be required to arrest, and a 72-hour no-contact period follows unless the alleged victim waives it in writing. A conviction with a domestic-abuse finding carries a surcharge and can count toward later repeater penalties. A disorderly conduct conviction by itself does not trigger the federal firearm ban for domestic violence, but another misdemeanor with physical force as an element can, so how a case is resolved matters. Wis. Stat. § 968.075
- Expungement Eligibility
- Disorderly conduct carries well under the 6-year ceiling in Wisconsin’s expungement law, so a person under 25 at the time of the offense may qualify — but only if the judge orders it at sentencing. It cannot be added later, which is why it must be raised before conviction. Wis. Stat. § 973.015
Common Questions
Disorderly Conduct FAQ
What is disorderly conduct in Wisconsin?
Under Wisconsin Statute 947.01, disorderly conduct means engaging in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud, or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances that tend to cause or provoke a disturbance. It is Wisconsin's broadest criminal charge, which is exactly why the facts of each case matter so much.
Is disorderly conduct a misdemeanor in Wisconsin?
Usually yes. Disorderly conduct is typically a Class B misdemeanor, but domestic-related allegations can create serious additional consequences.
Can you go to jail for disorderly conduct in Wisconsin?
The law allows it: a Class B misdemeanor carries up to 90 days in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Actual sentences depend on the facts, prior record, and whether the case carries a domestic designation. A municipal ordinance citation, by contrast, is a money forfeiture with no jail exposure.
How much is a disorderly conduct ticket in Wisconsin?
It depends on which kind you received. A municipal citation is a forfeiture whose amount is set by the city ordinance, commonly a few hundred dollars with court costs. A criminal charge is not a ticket at all: the fine can reach $1,000, and the conviction itself becomes a permanent record.
How do people fight a disorderly conduct charge?
By holding the state to both elements of the statute: that the conduct was actually disorderly, and that it tended to cause or provoke a disturbance. Defenses include protected speech, self-defense, exaggerated or unsupported accusations, and unreliable witnesses. What works in a given case depends on the evidence, which is what a free consultation is for.
Can a disorderly conduct charge be expunged in Wisconsin?
Sometimes. Disorderly conduct is within the offense levels Wisconsin's expungement statute covers, so a person under 25 at the time of the offense may qualify if the judge orders expungement at sentencing and the sentence is completed successfully. The request has to be made before sentencing, not after.
Can disorderly conduct affect my record?
Yes. A conviction can appear on background checks and affect employment, housing, licensing, school discipline, and future opportunities.
Can disorderly conduct charges be reduced or dismissed?
Sometimes. Outcomes depend on the evidence, prior record, alleged facts, available defenses, and prosecutor discretion.
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Talk to a Madison Disorderly Conduct Lawyer Today
Early defense can protect your record, reputation, and future.
This website is attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Local Defense, Local Courts
Your case is heard here, by people who work here
Avena Law Office, LLC runs a Madison criminal defense practice from one office and appears in the courthouses of Dane, Columbia, and the surrounding South-Central Wisconsin counties. Knowing the courtroom, the prosecutors, and how a county actually handles a charge is not a detail. It changes what can be negotiated.
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Tell the firm what happened. You will get a straight answer about where the case stands and what can be done next, at no cost and in confidence.
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