Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

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  • Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

    Your characters get locked up, make bail, are required to show up for a hearing. What kind of court is that?

    And: a DUI. Same court?

    The only thing an audience would see is the courtroom, so do I have to be specific in the script?

    THAAAAAAAAAANKS.

    Oh, and 17 versus 18: same court for such grievances, or would one be juvie?

    Come on, all you convicts, spill it

  • #2
    Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

    Be sure to throw this up at RSW too so we can give it a shot.

    For what it's worth, there is criminal court & traffic court. There is also small claims court. Let me know if the differences are not obvious and I will detail them out.

    Oh, and depending on the state, the age will make a difference. I have been in both juvenile courtrooms and the other courtrooms above.

    You won't need to go in to too much detail, just paint the picture of a courtroom and we can fill in the rest.

    Good luck!

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    • #3
      Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

      This is probably way more info than you were looking for, I don't know where your story is set, or where you live, but...

      It's complicated if it's someplace like California. A juvenile is anyone under 18. But the legal drinking age isn't until 21.

      If the juvenile (under 18) has not committed murder or some other heinous crime where they decide to try him as an adult, he would appear in juvenile court for anything. A DUI would include a charge for underage drinking, and he would automatically lose his license for a long time, among other things like probation and alcohol counseling. A simple Drunk and Disorderly brawl, i.e. nobody got maimed, brain damaged, or killed, would go to juvenile court also, with the added charge of underage drinking. Also, as opposed to just bail, the juvenile would only be released into the custody of a parent.

      If the person were over 18, but still under 21, for a DUI they would go to adult traffic court, but still have underage drinking tacked on to the DUI, and again, lose their license and all that other stuff. The Drunk and Disorderly brawl would go to adult criminal court, with the added underage drinking charge, and all the punishment that goes with that.

      For an adult 21 and up, the DUI would be traffic court, the Drunk and Disorderly brawl would be criminal court. If somehow the DUI was part of the other charges, it just might be included and go to criminal court.

      For any age, if these are not first offenses, or something horrible ensues, the penalties can be stiff, bail would be high or off the table, and they could incur jail time or juvenile hall time.

      "The Hollywood film business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Hunter S Thompson

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      • #4
        Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

        Hey thanks guys. My problem is that the charges vary and each time they concern several kids at once, and the ages ranges from 17 to 23. It's not a major part of the story, but I need to cut back periodically to a scene with a judge and a courtroom empty of defendants.

        These characters in my script live life on the road, traveling from one state to another, so whenever they get into trouble and have a hearing they need to appear at, well, they can't, because by the time the hearing comes arou,d usually they've blown on to the next state.

        I'm all for viewers filling in the blanks. I don't subscribe to the notion that every single detail needs to be spelled out. So if I have a short scene, and there's a judge and a prosecutor and no defendant , I'm relatively sure people will get the gist. I think TV has made that very easy for us, there's a visual language we are familiar with and we don't need to have someone connect the dots for us.


        @cshel: what you're saying complicates my story, but maybe I can get around it by having the scene or scenes be M.O.S. I can have a few cuts back to a courtroom but we don't necessarily HEAR the names being called out, so whether it's juvie court or traffic court or criminal court, the courtroom would look the same.

        Thanks for the input guys.

        Now: how realistic would it be to just brush over the fact that underage people go drinking in bars? In 1995? Is that a MAJOR issue, or would the viewer accept it?

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        • #5
          Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

          Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
          Your characters get locked up, make bail, are required to show up for a hearing. What kind of court is that?

          And: a DUI. Same court?

          The only thing an audience would see is the courtroom, so do I have to be specific in the script?

          THAAAAAAAAAANKS.

          Oh, and 17 versus 18: same court for such grievances, or would one be juvie?

          Come on, all you convicts, spill it
          In a nutshell, in New York it would all be handled in the same place for arraignment purposes (being brought to court for the first time to be informed of the charges). This would be in the local criminal court (city court, for example).

          If the bar fight was a felony (serious injury or using a dangerous or deadly weapon like a beer bottle over the head) or if the DWI was a felony due to multiple past offenses, then it could be removed to a higher court or reduced and kept in local court for future hearings.

          Good luck and feel free to PM me if you want to know more.
          Seven years dungeon --- no trials!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

            Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
            Now: how realistic would it be to just brush over the fact that underage people go drinking in bars? In 1995? Is that a MAJOR issue, or would the viewer accept it?
            Yes, from my experience this happens all the time... I just represented a kid who was under 20 who had his second DWI after being out drinking in a bar. The second DWI involved driving while his license was suspended from the first one. If the person looks old enough and the bar is sleazy or busy enough, underage drinking is found a lot. And then of course there's always the fake ID route. Probably even easier to buy if they're going across country and these are out of state licenses that the bartender is not familiar with.

            Hope this helps.
            Seven years dungeon --- no trials!

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            • #7
              Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

              Hey thanks counselor, that's a big help

              Basically I have this narrative that is full force ahead, no slowing down, so yeah, I don't want to bog it down with certain issues, I just want to blast right past them --as long as it doesn't raise too many red flags in terms of plausibility.

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              • #8
                Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
                Hey thanks counselor, that's a big help

                Basically I have this narrative that is full force ahead, no slowing down, so yeah, I don't want to bog it down with certain issues, I just want to blast right past them --as long as it doesn't raise too many red flags in terms of plausibility.
                Always a pleasure.... this (drunks and fights!) is one of the few things I actually know about, and I know you should be just fine!

                Sounds like a fun story, too. Something I'd definitely go see.
                Seven years dungeon --- no trials!

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                • #9
                  Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                  rant - what's with all the questions. haven't you heard the practice of "writing what you know"? go get drunk and locked up already! do your own research. geeeez! you lazy writers always want to do things the easy way.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                    Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                    rant - what's with all the questions. haven't you heard the practice of "writing what you know"? go get drunk and locked up already! do your own research. geeeez! you lazy writers always want to do things the easy way.
                    Haha funny, but I prefer to exploit DDers . So thanks guys.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                      Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                      rant - what's with all the questions. haven't you heard the practice of "writing what you know"? go get drunk and locked up already! do your own research. geeeez! you lazy writers always want to do things the easy way.
                      I highly recommend you don't go to jail. It's completely overrated. Although, Kurt Wimmer said he used to lie in pitches and meetings and say he had been in jail to make himself more likable and fascinating. He (and the other writers on the panel) joked that a writer needs to do two things in life: get a divorce and go to jail.
                      Last night, Jesus appeared to me in a dream and told me that loving me is the part of His job He hates the most.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                        Originally posted by NatachaVonBraun View Post
                        a writer needs to do two things in life: get a divorce and go to jail.
                        I'm 1 for 2.

                        Calling the wife now...

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                          Originally posted by Telly View Post
                          I'm 1 for 2.

                          Calling the wife now...
                          But...hold on there...Scott Frank in another panel said that the best way to beat procrastination was to have a wife that spends a shitload of money. It's the best motivator.

                          As I've said before, I'm available and have a CV and great references on my money-spending abilities and accomplishments.
                          Last night, Jesus appeared to me in a dream and told me that loving me is the part of His job He hates the most.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                            Originally posted by NatachaVonBraun View Post
                            But...hold on there...Scott Frank in another panel said that the best way to beat procrastination was to have a wife that spends a shitload of money.
                            Crap...now you tell me.

                            Calling the ex-wife now...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Drunk and Disorderly, Bar room fights ect.

                              Last night I had my once-a-month dream that I was in prison. And instead of being a scary place, it was a utopia. Everyone was ridiculously nice.

                              When I was first walked to my (plush) cell, one of the inmates whispered to me, "Now you've discovered the secret, bro. Break the law to break out of there and get in here."

                              And I just smiled and marveled at how awesome the place was.

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