What should I do if receive a disturbing the peace citation on Bourbon St.?

Hi, my name is Heather Ford and I am a traffic attorney in the city of New Orleans- also known as the Traffic Ticket Lady. What should you do if you receive a ticket for disturbing the peace in New Orleans, particularly if you’re out and about on Bourbon street? 

Before I get started, if you ever have any questions about a suspended license, a violation for driving with a suspended license, a traffic ticket, or anything of that nature, you can always shoot me a text or call me at 504-233-8529. You can also schedule a free strategy session at  traffictickettalks.com.

Sometimes people have a few drinks, things get a little rowdy, and the police will come out and issue citations to the few people for disturbing the peace. Disturbing the peace is basically the lowest misdemeanor you could possibly receive. People have a tendency just to make one payment.

Maybe you don’t live in New Orleans and you receive a ticket for disturbing the peace with a court date, or you do but you’re out of state for the date. There’s a temptation to just pay the citation because it’s fairly inexpensive and inconvenient to get to the court date. 

I may caution you against that. Sometimes these are the type of things that can be problematic down the road. Maybe you are at a job or you get security clearance and all of a sudden this disturbing the peace conviction from four or five years ago can come back to bite you. Every once in awhile, I talk to people and they say, “well I wasn’t convicted, I just paid it and I didn’t plead guilty.” 

Paying a citation or a traffic ticket is the exact same thing as pleading guilty. It has the same effect under the law. So while it’s a fairly simple charge and I can understand why there’s a temptation just to pay it and move on, I would say think of the future. Think of a future that maybe it is a problem. 

You can go to your court date and try to talk to the city attorney yourself. Or if you feel like maybe you need some help, I would advise you to hire someone. It’s usually not very expensive to get representation for a charge like that, and it may be a very good investment in the future. 

If you ever have any questions about DMV fees, traffic tickets, or a suspended license, I’d be happy to speak with you. You can always shoot me a quick text at 504-233-8529 or visit my website trafficticketlady.com.