Fair week brings 200,000 people to Biddle Avenue. And some of them get charged.

Every July since 1961, the Wyandotte Street Art Fair takes over Biddle Avenue: hundreds of artists, dozens of restaurants, and a crowd around two hundred thousand strong over four days. Our Wyandotte office sits on that same street, so fair week is quite literally outside our window, and so is what follows it: the open container tickets, the disorderly conduct arrests, the fights that become assault charges, and the OWI stops on the way home. If your festival week ended with a citation or a court date, here's what you're actually facing.

Can you walk around the fair with a drink?

Only where the event says you can. Michigan has no statewide right to carry open alcohol down a public street, so the rules come from the city's ordinance and the event's licensing, which confine drinking to designated areas. Step outside them with a cup in hand and you're exposed to an open container citation. It sounds trivial, and often it's resolved that way, but festival weeks bring officers specifically watching for it, and how you handle the encounter decides whether a citation stays a citation. Argue hard enough and the ticket has a way of growing into the next charge on this list.

What does a disorderly conduct charge actually mean?

Disorderly is the charge that fills district court dockets after big summer events. Michigan's disorderly person statute, MCL 750.167, is a misdemeanor that covers a list of conduct including being intoxicated in public while endangering the safety of another person or property, and cities layer their own disorderly conduct ordinances on top for shouting matches, refusing to move along, and general scene making. The line between an unpleasant conversation with an officer and a disorderly arrest is thin, and it's usually crossed loudly. If you were arrested at a festival, what you said and did in the two minutes around the arrest is the whole case, which is why witness names and video from your own phone matter more than people realize.

When does a festival altercation become an assault case?

Crowds, heat, alcohol, and twelve hours of sun produce fights, and fights produce charges. A shove or a swing is simple assault, a misdemeanor. Real injuries push it to aggravated assault, and a bottle or anything else used dangerously makes it felonious assault, a felony. We broke down the full ladder in our guide to assault and battery charges in Michigan. Festival fight cases have a particular character: chaotic scenes, partial witnesses, and police who arrived mid swing and had to pick someone to arrest. Self defense is a real and frequently successful issue in these cases, but it needs to be built, not blurted at the scene.

What about minors, and the drive home?

Two more charges round out fair season. First, minor in possession. A festival is exactly where an under 21 guest ends up holding someone's beer when an officer walks past, and while a first MIP is a civil infraction rather than a crime, it's not nothing, especially for a student. Our full guide to MIP charges at summer parties covers how those work and where they get worse. Second, the drive home. Festival closing time is a predictable wave of departing drivers, and patrols position for it. If your night at the fair ended with a stop and an arrest, our walkthrough of what happens after an OWI arrest is the place to start, tonight.

How do these cases get resolved?

Usually better than people fear, if they're handled instead of ignored. Festival charges land in the local district court, and for first timers with otherwise clean records there's a real menu: outright dismissal where the proofs are weak, reduction to a civil infraction, deferral arrangements that keep the conviction off your record, and HYTA for defendants under 26, which we covered in our guide to Michigan's second chance law. What turns a one weekend mistake into a permanent record is pleading guilty at arraignment to make it go away fast. Our criminal defense practice works these courts year round from two blocks off the fair route, and the consultation is free. Get in touch before your court date and let's keep a loud night from becoming a record.

Quick answers

Can you drink alcohol at the Wyandotte Street Art Fair?

Only where the event allows it. Alcohol at street festivals is confined to designated areas, and carrying a drink beyond them is typically a local open container ordinance violation. Michigan has no statewide law making it legal to walk public streets with an open drink, so the city's ordinance controls, and festival weeks bring enforcement.

What is disorderly conduct in Michigan?

Michigan's disorderly person statute, MCL 750.167, is a misdemeanor covering a list of conduct that includes being intoxicated in public while endangering the safety of another person or property, along with fighting and similar behavior. Cities also have their own disorderly conduct ordinances. It's a catch all charge that shows up constantly around crowded summer events.

Will a festival charge stay on my record?

A conviction will, which is why the goal is keeping it off in the first place. Depending on the charge and your history, options can include dismissal, reduction to a civil infraction, deferral programs, and HYTA for defendants under 26. A misdemeanor from one loud night is very fightable with the right approach.

Related reading

• Assault and Battery Charges in Michigan
• Minor in Possession at Summer Parties
• Criminal Defense at D.C. Law