Beware these common criminal charges on Halloween

 Posted on October 15, 2018 in Criminal Defense

With Halloween approaching, many people are looking forward to a night of fun, trick-or-treating or perhaps a few drinks and pranks. While All Hallow’s Eve can be a night of innocent fun and scares, it can quickly evolve into something more sinister.

Sometimes, it’s all too easy to take Halloween revelry a bit too far, resulting in civil or criminal consequences. The last thing that anyone wants on an evening of fun is to end up in jail. This Halloween, take caution to avoid these common crimes.

DUI or DWI

If your Halloween celebrations will involve alcohol, drink in moderation. Designate one of your friends as the sober driver. If your whole group will be drinking, hire a taxi or rideshare to drive you, or take public transportation.

Trespassing and breaking and entering

Halloween is full of treats—and some tricks. But if your tricks involve creeping onto someone else’s property, beware. The police may not find this prank too amusing. Make sure that you have permission to enter someone else’s property before trespassing.

The same applies to breaking and entering. Popping into your friend’s home to spook them may seem funny, as long as they do not mistake you for a burglar and call the police.

Disturbing the peace

What fun is a celebration without some music and cheering? Just take care that your festivities do not disturb your neighbors. Disturbing the peace is a civil charge, not a criminal one, but you still do not want to pay the hefty fines involved.

Disorderly conduct

When lots of people who have been drinking get together, their behavior sometimes gets out of hand. Throwing toilet paper on someone’s house, egging their car or similar pranks may seem funny at the time, but the recipient might not be laughing. Neither will you, if the police charge you with disorderly conduct.