Halloween Costumes

It may not feel like it with this September heat, but spooky season is upon us! Pumpkin spice is back, the nights are cooling down, and the empty storefronts have made their annual transformation into Spirit stores. For those of you out there still on the fence, you only have 52 days left to decide what you’re dressing up as. On that note, have you ever considered how Halloween is the one day a year that dressing up as someone else isn’t socially or legally frowned upon? Or is it? With that loaded question in mind, let’s jump into the absolutely frightening facts of committing a crime… in costume!

If you decided to emphasize the tricks part instead of the treats this Halloween, you may find yourself facing elevated charges. Back in 2018, Arizona passed House Bill 2007, which makes committing a crime while masking your appearance a Class 6 Felony on its own. That’s right: regardless of what the other charge you’re facing is when you decide to be a little devilish this All Hallow’s Eve, you’ll find another whopper of a trick in your bag with that additional charge. Decided to TP the annoying neighbor’s house dressed as Richard Nixon? Well, that man was not a crook, but you’ll be looking at a criminal damage charge AND another charge for committing that crime while dressed as an innocent politician.

What if you get a little too into character this Halloween? We’ve covered how to handle yourself in a potential criminal situation before, but what if you decide to double down when the officer asks you to identify yourself and you admit it: you ARE the Batman. Well, in Arizona, criminal impersonation is a Class 6 Felony as well, and that carries a penalty of up to 2 years in prison and/or a fine of $150,000. Would an officer actually cite you for criminal impersonation for claiming to be Batman? Probably not, but you have to ask yourself: what would the Dark Knight do? He probably wouldn’t risk the extra charges, so neither should you.

Remember this Halloween, the only thing that should be devilish is your costume, not your propensity for crime. Getting busted in costume does seem hilarious, and anyone checking the MCSO mugshots (while they still live) would get a kick out of it, but Arizona values justice more than it values your right to get arrested dressed as Donald Duck. If you find yourself a-fright on Halloween night, call Palestini Law and we’ll make everything alright!