Also known as: disturb the peace · disturbs the peace · disturbed the peace · disturbance of the peace · breach of the peace
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A public offense consisting of violent conduct or conduct likely to cause an immediate disturbance of public order. The offense supplies the basis for arrests, justifies certain uses of force by officers and private persons, and marks the boundary beyond which expressive conduct loses First Amendment protection.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dominic Drake burned a U.S. flag on a public sidewalk during a protest against government policy. No crowd reacted with violence or threatened immediate disorder. Police arrested him under a statute targeting flag desecration. The arrest is invalid because the conduct did not produce or threaten an imminent breach of the peace.
Diane Dawson displayed a banner at a school event that school officials believed would provoke student unrest. No actual disturbance occurred and the crowd remained orderly. Officials disciplined Dawson for risking a breach of the peace. The discipline fails because the banner did not cause or threaten immediate public disorder.
Demetrius Douglas made repeated lewd phone calls to a neighbor. The neighbor reported the calls as creating a disturbance. Police charged Douglas with delinquency based on disturbing the peace. The charge stands only if the calls amounted to conduct likely to cause immediate public disorder.
Deborah Dunn attempted to purchase a home in a neighborhood subject to a racially restrictive covenant. Neighbors sought to enforce the covenant to avoid alleged community unrest. A court refused to enforce the covenant. The refusal follows because private agreements cannot authorize state action that would suppress speech or conduct absent an actual breach of the peace.
Dorothy Daniels obtained a restraining order after her former partner repeatedly appeared at her home and workplace. Police declined to arrest the former partner despite multiple violations. Daniels sued the police for failing to protect her from further disturbance. The claim fails because the order did not create an enforceable property interest in police action to prevent every possible breach of the peace.
Damian Decker lit a cross during a speech at a banking conference attended by minority employees. Several attendees expressed immediate fear of violence. Police arrested Decker for making a threat intended to intimidate. The arrest is valid because the conduct constituted a true threat that created an imminent risk of breach of the peace.
Violent acts or conduct that is likely to cause an immediate disturbance of public order meet the definition. The Restatement (Second) of Torts § 116 states that 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.
Words that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace fall outside First Amendment protection under Chaplinsky. The essay questions confirm that viewpoint discrimination within the fighting-words category remains invalid even when the speech risks a breach of the peace.
…the law or tell me under what section of—of the code you found the boy delinquent? "A. Well, there is a—I think it amounts to disturbing the peace. I can't give you the section, but I can tell you the law, that when one person uses lewd language in the presence of another person, that it can amount to—and I consider that when a person…
…and meaning.” Id. , at 535. In Cox v. Louisiana , 379 U. S. 536, 543 (1965), we vacated a civil rights leader’s conviction for disturbing the peace
…in the courts of the particular conduct being criminalized, or whether the violation of any law was per se considered a breach of the peace
…in Tecumseh.[^maj-8] Notwithstanding nightmarish images of out-of-control flatware, livestock run amok, and colliding tubas
Flag burning as political expression is protected unless it produces an imminent breach of the peace. The primary authority excerpt states that absent an imminent breach of the peace or another compelling non-speech interest, the government may not prohibit it.
No. When a statute supplies a summary judicial process and prohibits self-help, any lease clause authorizing lockouts or removals without court process is void. The real-property MC question shows that parties cannot contract around the statutory prohibition on self-help even if the conduct remains peaceful.
Yes. Common-law solicitation is complete when a person intentionally urges another to commit a felony or breach-of-the-peace offense with the purpose that the crime occur. Multiple MC questions confirm that the offense requires no agreement, no response from the person solicited, and no resulting harm.