Also known as: breaches of peace · breach of the peace · breaches of the peace · disturbing the peace
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A public offense involving violence or conduct likely to cause an immediate disturbance of public order.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Boubacar Bah burned a flag replica on a public sidewalk during a political rally. No crowd reacted with violence or disorder. Officials arrested him solely for the symbolic act. The absence of any imminent disturbance meant the conduct did not meet the breach-of-peace threshold.
Bianca Blanco lit a small cross during a banking conference presentation. Several attendees expressed immediate fear of violence. Security intervened to prevent escalation. The act qualified as a breach of the peace because it created an imminent risk of public disturbance.
Bruce Baldwin sued the city after officers failed to stop a violent street fight near his business. The fight caused property damage and required police intervention. Baldwin argued the city had a policy of ignoring such disturbances. The breach of the peace formed the underlying public offense supporting the claim.
Bella Barnes applied for a permit to hold a large demonstration in a city park. Officials denied the permit citing past events that turned into fights. The denial rested on preventing a likely breach of the peace. Barnes challenged the decision as overbroad.
Benito Benitez published statements accusing a public figure of corruption. The statements prompted angry crowds to gather outside the publisher's office. The publisher argued the speech risked a breach of the peace. The court weighed that risk against First Amendment protections.
Brooke Bryant operated a steel mill during a national emergency. The president ordered seizure of the facility to avert labor unrest. The order cited the need to prevent a breach of the peace. The court examined whether the executive action exceeded constitutional limits.
A breach of the peace is a public offense done by violence or one causing or likely to cause an immediate disturbance of public order. The definition focuses on the risk of immediate disorder rather than completed harm. It supplies the standard for privileges to use force in arrest and self-help contexts.
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Yes. At common law solicitation is complete when a person intentionally urges another to commit a crime that is a felony or involves a breach of the peace. The request to start a physical confrontation in a public setting satisfies the element because an assault qualifies as a breach of the peace. No agreement or completed act by the person solicited is required.
…labels" of state law. N. A. A. C. P. v. Button, 371 U. S. 415, 429. Like insurrection, contempt, advocacy of unlawful acts, breach of the peace, obscenity, solicitation of legal business, and the various other formulae for the repression of expression that have been challenged in this court, libel can claim no talismanic immunity…
…discussion.[^maj-20] In Cantwell v. Connecticut , 310 U.S. 296 (1940), a conviction in a state court of the common-law crime of breach of the peace was, under the circumstances of the case, found to be a violation of the Amendment’s commands relating to freedom of religion. In Bridges v. California , 314 U.S. 252 (1941), enforcement…
…and the insulting or fighting' words—those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived…
…words,” and that it is limited to fighting words that “by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace
…local governments to create police forces, whether this requirement was levied directly, or indirectly by imposing damages for
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A secured party may repossess without judicial process only if it can be done without breach of the peace. The UCC imposes this limitation to avoid violence or public disturbance. Any repossession that risks immediate disorder requires court action instead.
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Flag burning as political expression is protected absent an imminent breach of the peace or another compelling non-speech interest. A statute aimed at the communicative impact of the act is unconstitutional. The government may not prohibit the conduct solely because of its expressive message.
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Senators and Representatives are privileged from arrest during sessions except in cases of treason, felony, and breach of the peace. The exception preserves the ability to arrest for serious public-order offenses. The privilege does not extend to civil process or lesser misdemeanors.
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