Public Urination Hermosa Beach, Judicial Diversion, Donation

Our client, age 27, went out to the Hermosa Beach Pier Plaza area with friends from work just as the weather started getting warmer and the COVID-19 restrictions were being relaxed. 

He and his friends spent some time in American Junkie consuming three or four pitchers of beer before heading to the opposite side of the Pier Plaza to Tower 12, where they had a few more pitchers. 

As midnight approached, the group decided to end their evening and they each headed toward their respective cars.  Our client, sensing he may not be safe to drive (or below the legal limit), wisely opted to hail an Uber to get home to Palos Verdes. 

However, before getting the Uber, he had to go to his car to get the garage door remote control so he could enter his house once he arrived home.  As he went toward his parked car in the new concrete parking structure north of Pier Plaza, he felt the need to urinate, so he found a place that he believed would be out of view from others.

Our client was wrong in believing where he urinated would be unseen by others.  A uniformed Hermosa Beach police officer on foot spotted our client.  As he described his view in the police report, “the suspect [our client] had both hands in front of his groin area, and a stream of urine was coming from his groin area, hitting the ground, and making a puddle.  The suspect admitted to urinating.”

The officer then asked our client for his driver’s license and our client cooperated, even apologizing to the officer.

The officer prepared a ticket for our client, citing Penal Code § 372 (“Public Nuisance”) as the reason for the ticket.  The officer then handed the ticket to our client and asked him to sign a promise to appear in court at the Torrance Superior Court in about three months.  Our client did so and was handed a copy of the ticket.

Approximately two and a half months later, the Client called Greg Hill & Associates.  He spoke with Greg Hill and explained the facts of his case.  Greg asked several questions for more details about what happened.  The client then asked Greg how the judge would handle the case.

Greg then explained how such cases are handled, first by the Redondo Beach City Prosecutor’s Office, which handled such cases in Hermosa Beach.  Greg explained how a prosecutor from their office would likely propose a certain a plea bargain with certain terms.  Greg told the client what the customary terms were for recent cases arising out of Hermosa Beach in the Torrance Courthouse.

Greg then explained how such an offer may be rejected and judicial diversion could be requested from the judge there in Torrance hearing this type of case.  Greg then explained the terms of the last few such cases he had handled in Torrance, explaining that the judge often would set more lenient terms if the client attended ten Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings prior to the arraignment to show he was trying to better understand the effects of alcohol and to support the local AA meetings.

Our client then retained Greg Hill and Associates and attended ten AA meetings prior to the arraignment.

Greg then appeared on the client’s behalf in the Torrance Courthouse for the arraignment.  The Redondo Beach City Prosecutor offered to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor if our client performed 30 hours of approved community service or made a $350 “donation” to the Hermosa Beach Nuisance Abatement Fund at the City of Hermosa Beach finance office.

Greg knew the client would prefer a dismissal of the case, so he requested judicial diversion from the judge, explaining that our client was a University of California Santa Barbara graduate with no prior criminal history who was employed and had already attended ten AA meetings after receiving his ticket.  The judge granted judicial diversion with a promise to dismiss the case if our client made the $350 “donation” and stayed out of trouble for two months.

Our client was more than happy to make the $350 “donation” to have his case dismissed in two months.

For more information about public urination and the issues in this case, please click on the following articles: