Legally reviewed by Tonmiel Rodriguez, Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer — last reviewed June 2026.

Disorderly Conduct Defense — Florida § 877.03

You got into an argument outside a bar on Ybor City Drive or in downtown Lakeland. You were at a party in Winter Haven that neighbors complained about. You were loud in a public place, an officer showed up, and now you’re holding a Notice to Appear for disorderly conduct. Maybe you said something heated to the officer. Maybe you didn’t do much of anything at all.

Florida’s disorderly conduct statute — § 877.03 — is one of the broadest, most vague criminal statutes in Florida law. That vagueness is a double-edged sword: it gives police wide discretion to make arrests, but it also gives skilled defense attorneys wide room to challenge those arrests on constitutional and factual grounds. I have defended disorderly conduct charges throughout Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties, and I can tell you that a significant number of these charges either should not have been filed or cannot be proven at trial.

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What Florida § 877.03 Actually Prohibits

The statute is deceptively simple. It makes it unlawful for any person to commit any act that:

• Corrupts the public morals;
• Outrages the sense of public decency;
• Affects the peace and quiet of persons who witness it; or
• Engages in brawling or fighting.

Courts have struggled for decades to define where the line falls between constitutionally protected expression and conduct that actually constitutes a criminal breach of the peace. Florida courts have made clear that the statute must be applied narrowly to avoid swallowing First Amendment protections.

Elements the State Must Prove

1. You committed an act;
2. That act was done in a public place or in a place open to the public;
3. The act corrupted public morals, outraged public decency, disturbed the peace, or constituted brawling or fighting;
4. The act was voluntary and intentional.

What the statute does not prohibit: speech alone, absent “fighting words” that are directed at a specific person and likely to cause an immediate violent reaction. The United States Supreme Court established this in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, and Florida courts follow that framework. Profanity, argument, and even aggressive verbal confrontation with police officers generally does not meet the threshold.

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Penalty and Consequences

Charge	Degree	Max Jail	Max Probation	Max Fine
Disorderly Conduct — § 877.03	Second-Degree Misdemeanor	60 days	6 months	$500

Sixty days in jail and a $500 fine may look minor on paper. The real-world consequences frequently aren’t:

• Criminal record: Even a misdemeanor conviction appears on employment background checks
• Professional licensing: Florida licensing boards for healthcare workers, teachers, contractors, real estate agents, and others treat misdemeanor convictions seriously
• Security clearances: Government employees and contractors can lose clearances over misdemeanor records
• Immigration: For non-citizens, any criminal conviction carries potential immigration consequences
• Sealing/expungement ineligibility: A straight adjudication is permanent — a withheld adjudication may be eligible for sealing under § 943.059

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Where These Charges Happen in the 10th Circuit

I see disorderly conduct charges arising in predictable patterns across Polk, Highlands, and Hardee Counties.

Polk County: Downtown Lakeland’s entertainment district along Lake Mirror and the bars on Kentucky Avenue generate a steady flow of § 877.03 arrests, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. Winter Haven’s Chain of Lakes area sees similar patterns. Lakeland PD and PCSO are the primary arresting agencies in these situations. The Bartow courthouse handles all Polk County misdemeanors.

Highlands County: Sebring’s downtown area and the entertainment venues around Lake Jackson are the most common sites for § 877.03 arrests. The Sebring PD and Highlands County Sheriff’s Office write many of these charges, with cases heard at the Sebring courthouse. The Sebring International Raceway and Fisheating Creek area also generate seasonal arrests around events.

Hardee County: Wauchula’s bar scene is small but not without its incidents. The Hardee County Sheriff’s Office handles most disorderly conduct arrests in the county, with cases heard at the Wauchula courthouse. Rural Hardee County also produces disorderly conduct charges in the context of domestic disturbance calls that don’t rise to battery.

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Defense Strategies

1. First Amendment / Protected Speech Challenge

This is the most significant and frequently successful defense to disorderly conduct charges in Florida. If the conduct alleged was purely verbal — arguing with police, shouting in public, using profanity — the charge may be constitutionally defective. Florida courts, including the Second DCA which covers the 10th Circuit, have reversed disorderly conduct convictions based on First Amendment grounds in cases involving verbal confrontations with officers. I raise this challenge in every appropriate case.

2. Conduct Did Not Cause Actual Disturbance

The statute requires conduct that actually disrupts public peace — not conduct that might theoretically offend someone. If no one was actually disturbed and there was no fight or breach of the peace, the State’s factual basis for the charge is thin. In these cases, aggressive cross-examination of the arresting officer and careful review of the scene — who was present, what they observed, what actually happened — can be decisive.

3. Lack of Intent

The conduct must be voluntary and intentional. If you were involuntarily intoxicated, were responding to provocation in a way that was understandable, or were reacting to a medical or mental health situation, the intent element may not be provable beyond a reasonable doubt.

4. Vagueness Challenge

The “corrupts public morals” and “outrages public decency” prongs of § 877.03 have been subject to constitutional challenge for decades. Applied to specific conduct, there are cases where the charge is so untethered from any concrete standard that it constitutes an unconstitutionally vague application of the statute. These are advanced arguments that require experienced appellate-level thinking, but they are available in the right case.

5. Body Camera and Witness Review

In every disorderly conduct case, I demand all available video before making any recommendation. Officers sometimes write arrest reports that describe conduct as “tumultuous and violent” when the video shows a heated but nonviolent verbal exchange. What actually happened — not what the report says happened — controls the case.

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Disorderly Conduct vs. Related Charges

§ 877.03 frequently appears alongside or in place of other charges. The distinctions matter:

• Disorderly Intoxication (§ 856.011): A separate offense requiring public intoxication and causing a disturbance or endangering others. Not the same as disorderly conduct — though they are often charged together. See our Disorderly Intoxication page for the specific differences.
• Resisting Arrest Without Violence (§ 843.02): Often charged simultaneously when the person argued with or was uncooperative with police during the disorderly conduct arrest
• Breach of Peace: Not a separate Florida statute — disorderly conduct IS the Florida equivalent
• Trespassing: Sometimes charged when a person refuses to leave a premises after being asked

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Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is disorderly conduct under Florida law?

Florida § 877.03 covers conduct that corrupts public morals, outrages public decency, disturbs the peace of bystanders, or involves brawling or fighting. The statute is deliberately broad, which has led Florida courts to require narrow application to avoid sweeping in constitutionally protected speech and activity.

Can I be arrested just for arguing with police in public?

Generally, no. Florida and federal courts have consistently held that verbal confrontations with police — including profanity and heated language — are protected speech unless they constitute “fighting words” directed at a specific individual and likely to cause immediate violence. The line matters, and where your conduct falls on it determines your defense strategy.

What is the penalty?

Disorderly conduct is a second-degree misdemeanor: up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The more significant long-term consequences are the criminal record and potential effects on licensing and employment.

Will this affect my professional license?

Potentially yes. Florida licensing boards for nurses, teachers, contractors, real estate professionals, security officers, and many other occupations require disclosure of criminal convictions and have authority to sanction or revoke licenses based on misdemeanor convictions. This is one reason why avoiding a conviction — through dismissal, diversion, or a withheld adjudication — matters significantly.

Can this be expunged?

A withheld adjudication (not a conviction) on a § 877.03 charge may be eligible for sealing under Florida § 943.059 if you meet all statutory criteria and have no prior record. A straight conviction is not expungeable. Fighting for a non-conviction outcome at the outset is always worth it.

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Experienced Defense for the Broadest Charge in Florida

Disorderly conduct looks simple. It isn’t. The First Amendment issues are real, the vagueness arguments are available, and the factual disputes in these cases can be significant. I approach every § 877.03 charge as seriously as I approach any other charge — because the consequences of a conviction, for professionals and regular people alike, are real.

I have tried cases in Bartow, Sebring, and Wauchula. I know the prosecutors and I know the courtrooms. Whether your case resolves through a pretrial motion, a diversion program, or a trial, I give you an honest assessment and a real defense.

Hablamos Español.

How Do Florida Courts Define Disorderly Conduct Under § 877.03?

Florida Statute § 877.03 is intentionally broad — and that breadth is both its defining feature and its constitutional weakness. The statute prohibits conduct that: (1) corrupts the public morals; (2) outrages the sense of public decency; (3) affects the peace and quiet of persons who witness it; or (4) engages in brawling or fighting. The first three prongs are largely subjective, which is why Florida courts have spent decades trying to define what conduct actually qualifies.

The Florida Supreme Court has held that the statute must be construed narrowly to avoid unconstitutionality. In State v. Saunders, the court held that § 877.03 can only be applied to conduct — not to speech alone — unless the speech constitutes “fighting words” under the First Amendment doctrine established in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. Fighting words are words directed at another person that are inherently likely to cause an immediate breach of the peace. Profanity alone is not fighting words. Criticism of police officers is not fighting words. Loud and angry speech directed at law enforcement, however offensive to the officer, does not qualify.

This means that a disorderly conduct arrest based solely on what a person said — without physical conduct that disrupted public order — is vulnerable to challenge on both First Amendment and statutory grounds. Officers arrest people for disorderly conduct after verbal confrontations more often than the law actually permits.

Disorderly Conduct in Florida: Common Scenarios and Defenses

Disorderly conduct charges in Polk County arise in predictable scenarios: altercations at bars or sporting events; domestic incidents that spilled into public view; confrontations with police during traffic stops or crowd situations; and incidents at public events, concerts, or sporting venues. In each of these contexts, the defense analysis starts with the same question: what conduct, specifically, did the officer observe that would constitute criminal behavior under § 877.03 as narrowly construed by Florida courts?

When the conduct was verbal — arguing, yelling, name-calling, profanity — the First Amendment analysis applies. Florida courts have consistently held that citizens have the right to verbally challenge and criticize police officers, and that an officer’s subjective feeling of being disrespected does not justify an arrest for disorderly conduct. If you were arrested for what you said rather than what you did, that is a defense worth fighting.

When the conduct was physical — pushing, fighting, shoving, or physically disrupting a public gathering — the factual analysis matters. Were you the aggressor or were you defending yourself? Was the physical contact consensual (a mutual fight) or one-sided? Did your conduct actually disturb the peace of identifiable people, or is the charge based on police speculation? The State must prove every element of the offense, and in a mutual fight scenario where both parties were arrested, the self-defense analysis is directly relevant.

In some disorderly conduct cases, the charge is used as a catch-all when officers lack probable cause for a more specific crime. The disorderly conduct statute’s vagueness makes it a convenient tool for arrests that would not hold up under more specific charges. Recognizing this pattern is part of building an effective defense.

Collateral Consequences of a Disorderly Conduct Conviction

A second-degree misdemeanor conviction for disorderly conduct carries a maximum of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. But the collateral consequences are often more significant than the statutory penalty. A criminal conviction — even a misdemeanor — creates a permanent record that appears on most background checks. The word “disorderly” in the charge description creates negative impressions with employers, landlords, and professional licensing boards that a more neutral entry would not.

For professional license holders — teachers, nurses, healthcare workers, contractors, attorneys — a disorderly conduct conviction can trigger a licensing board inquiry. Florida’s licensed professions are governed by statutes that allow discipline for crimes that reflect on fitness to practice, and a conviction for conduct-based disorder is exactly the kind of charge boards scrutinize. The licensing consequences can be more severe than the criminal penalty.

For anyone subject to immigration consequences, a misdemeanor conviction can have unexpected effects on visa status, permanent residency, or naturalization proceedings, depending on the individual’s status and the specific facts of the case.

For first-time offenders, diversion or a withheld adjudication preserves the ability to seek sealing under Florida § 943.059. A sealed record is not visible to the public or most employers. Avoiding a conviction — not just minimizing the penalty — is the goal that protects you most effectively in the long run. Related practice areas include disorderly intoxication defense, misdemeanor defense, and professional license defense in Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties.