People v Weaver, 2011 NY Slip Op 00745 [available here]
I bet when most people imagine a perfect wedding, it does not end with the groom being tased in the street by a cop after an obscenity-laced tirade against his new bride. But that is just what happened in People v Weaver, and the issue for the Court of Appeals was whether the groom "recklessly created a risk" of "public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm" to support his conviction for Disorderly Conduct under Penal Law 240.20. A unanimous court (in an opinion by Judge Graffeo) found the groom's actions--yelling obscenities in the street, verbally abusing his new wife and police officers, and generally creating a drunken ruckus--were sufficient to establish that defendant recklessly created a risk of a public disturbance sufficient to justify his conviction.
Defendant argued that his confrontation with his wife was a private matter, and the fact that the fight occurred in the middle of the night in a small town limited the risk of public annoyance or alarm. The Court rejected the argument, noting that "[a]lthough there was no testimony at trial from onlookers, there was evidence that a number of people were in the immediate vicinity, whether pumping gas, using the ATM or working at the mini-mart. It can also reasonably be inferred that guests were sleeping in the nearby motel."
More later on the other decisions handed down by the Court of Appeals today.
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