Hermosa Beach, Public Urination, Age 20, Near Pier Plaza

Our client, age 20, had been down to the Pier Plaza area with friends after the group had already consumed quite a bit of alcohol.  They were intrigued by the nightlife and wanted to be part of it, although they were allowed in the bars due to their age.  Our client was two weeks away from his 21st birthday.

Unfortunately, our client got an early birthday present of sorts.  It was about twenty minutes past midnight and the group was heading home.  Our client paused to urinate behind a parked car in the flat, ground level parking lot (known as “Lot A”) just to the south of Pier Plaza.  The address is 1101 Hermosa Avenue.

At that time, a uniformed Hermosa Beach police officer, driving an “undercover vehicle,” observed our client “standing with both hands in front of his groin area and a steady stream of urine coming from his groin area, splashing on the pavement and forming a puddle.”  

The officer allegedly could see this although our client was standing behind a parked car, so that the officer could only see our client from the waist up.  The officer certainly could not see the pavement by our client’s feet.

The officer stopped the car and asked our client if he was urinating and our client, surprised that a uniformed officer emerged from an unmarked car, said he was and apologized.

The officer asked our client why he did not just go into one of the bars to use the restroom there.

Our client explained that he could not because he was not yet twenty-one.  The officer asked our client if he had been drinking that evening and our client allegedly admitted he had.

The officer then issued our client a ticket for a violation of Penal Code § 372, “public nuisance,” and had our client sign a promise to appear in the Torrance Superior Court in about three months.

Our client signed the promise and the police officer gave our client a copy of the ticket.  The officer then got back in the unmarked vehicle and continued driving around the parking lot.

The client returned home and the next day, told his dad about the ticket.

The dad then called Greg Hill & Associates with his son and discussed the ticket with Greg.  The son described what had taken place and Greg explained how such tickets were generally handled by the Redondo Beach City Prosecutor’s Office, who handled such cases for the City of Hermosa Beach.  Greg explained which department the case would start at in the Torrance Courthouse and how the judicial officer assigned that department conducted the proceedings.

Greg then described judicial diversion, a relatively new law provided for at Penal Code §§ 1001.94 and 1001.95 and how the Redondo Beach City Prosecutors often made an offer of informal diversion according to certain terms.

Greg recommended that the client attend ten Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings prior to the arraignment date and then email Greg his sign-in sheet documenting such AA meetings attended.  Greg explained that showing such attendance demonstrated he was serious about better understanding how alcohol could affect him and lead to poor decisions.

The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates and Greg appeared in court with proof that the client did attend ten AA meetings before the arraignment.

The Redondo Beach City Prosecutor’s Office made an unusual offer that was quite a bit “heavier” than what Greg had seen recently in such cases, but the Redondo Beach City Prosecutor there in court explained that it was because our client was underage and admitted to drinking alcohol that evening.

The offer was that our client would be offered “DA Diversion,” but with an obligation to perform 80 hours of community service and make a $350 “donation” to the Hermosa Beach Nuisance Abatement Fund.  

Greg then showed the Redondo Beach City Prosecutor’s our client’s documentation of having attended ten AA meetings and the offer was reduced to just 30 hours of community service.

Our client accepted the People’s offer, which if our client completes the terms will result in the People dismissing the case under Penal Code § 1385 in 90 days.  Our client was happy with this arrangement.