Can you be arrested for public intoxication on your own property? - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Can you be arrested for public intoxication on your own property? (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 7/15/2013 9:55:15 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:

Quoted:
It's in view of the public. If you're standing behind your front glassdoor masterbating as school children walk by are you not committing an offence? If you're in your front yard drunk, acting like a jackass and the neighbors call the cops you may just go to jail.

Goddammit, there go my afternoon plans

I always knew you were a dirty dirty bird.

Love the sig line, BTW. Never read it before.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:02:33 AM EDT

[#2]

So much for property rights

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:11:19 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
I have always been told that if an officer comes to your house and you are drunk and he asks you to step outside to always invite him in or as soon as you come outside the house You are technically in public and can be arrested even on your own property.

Why not just tell him to fuck off?

No, inviting them in sounds much better.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:13:32 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
If I am drunk in my yard or in my neighbors yard(which connect) and are the same piece of grass and I am allowed on his property, can I be arrsterd for public intoxication?

This is a real question, a friend was detained for this. He caused no harm to anyone or himself and the police came for a different reason.

If you're in clear view and acting a fool to draw their attention.. You very well can be arrested and hauled in. Being detained is just that. "being detained.." Until a determination to arrest or not is made. For whatever reason the police came to the place your friend was at. Was your friend arrested?

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:17:09 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
I have always been told that if an officer comes to your house and you are drunk and he asks you to step outside to always invite him in or as soon as you come outside the house You are technically in public and can be arrested even on your own property.

That sounds like entrapment.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:23:32 AM EDT

[#6]

I was drunk in a bar... They threw me into Public.
Ron White

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:23:47 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Quoted:

I think if you are "in view" of the public they can.

So if im shitfaced with my curtains open i can get arrested?

Not sure about that one.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:41:52 AM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:

Being in the Justice System and dealing with PI on a weekly basis, I'll say " It depends".

In TX, as someone posted above, you can be arrested for being intoxicated in public. Your yard/porch is NOT public property unless you are a business.

Businesses are still on private property...

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:47:31 AM EDT

[#9]

True. Depends on the business I guess. Any kind of store, etc that deals with the public in any way, and boom... Public property for the purposes of PI.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:49:56 AM EDT

[#10]

A really shitty riding lawn mower, while drunk, at full throttle (maybe a whole eight MPH) is one of life's finer pleasures.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:52:34 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
No doubt you can. There was even an arfcommer that got a DWI open container ticket in Arkansas a few years back while plowing his field on a tractor that never left his property. Can't remember how the initial contact happened.

ETA: open container as the below poster noted, not a DWI.

He must have been "Jimmy Buffet drunk" or plowing nekkid or just acting a real fool to get that.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:54:58 AM EDT

[#12]

In Virginia, yes. One of our appellate courts, in its infinite wisdom, decided that you are still "in public" for purposes of the "drunk in public" statute if you're within view view/earshot of the public. So if you're in the middle of a very large property ... probably not. But on a typical front yard or porch, yes.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:55:54 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
What if I am having a cookout and everyone is drinking? Can they just come and arrest people? The law cannott be changed because you are being nice or being a dick. It is either legal or illegal. Kinda like gun rights.

The best way to find the answer is to look up your state's specific laws which should include a definition of what being "in public" is.

Most of them don't define that very well, if at all.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:56:20 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
In this day and age, you can likely be arrested for taking a piss in your own toilet.

Or just calling a spade, a spade. If your drunk don't call a spade, in a loud voice, a "mother-fucking shovel" when the magistrate is near.

Posted: 7/15/2013 10:59:54 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Public intoxication is only covered under local ordinance around here. Even still, I don't think it is covered on private property. (I don't think we even have one)

Being a belligerent asshole to your neighbors while drunk.. will get you charged.

But that is more on being an asshole, then being drunk.

I am not a belligerent asshole, asshole. Hold my beer, asshole, while I piss in my front yard.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:01:12 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
I have always been told that if an officer comes to your house and you are drunk and he asks you to step outside to always invite him in or as soon as you come outside the house You are technically in public and can be arrested even on your own property.

I'll give you some better advice - don't even open the door if an officer comes to your house. That solves every conceivable problem right there.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:01:47 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Being in the Justice System and dealing with PI on a weekly basis, I'll say " It depends".
In TX, as someone posted above, you can be arrested for being intoxicated in public. Your yard/porch is NOT public property unless you are a business.

Businesses are still on private property...

But commonly accessible to the public, right?

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:01:51 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
So I guess mowing your lawn on a rider with a can of beer is an instant DUI. Thought we had a thread on that awhile ago.

Yes, I've read news stories about people arrested for mowing while drunk, riding their scooters, and riding horses while drunk. A couple of years ago I read about a farmer ticketed for open container for drinking a beer while operating his tractor in his field. I don't know the outcome of any of those cases, I'd hope many get tossed out. I say many, and not all because some of these people actually ventured out on the highway while drunkenly driving their lawnmowers.

ETA: Someone already mentioned the farmer, that's probably the incident I remembered.

Funny story. About 20 years ago I met a cowboy that had got busted for DUI and lost his license. He started riding his horse to the bar and got a DUI on his horse. The reason he was given was he was in control of his horse. He then proceeded to teach his dog how to hold the reigns on the horse and took them both to the bar, got charged with another DUI and beat it beat the charge because the dog was driving.

I still think he was pulling my leg.

There are no PI laws here, I didn't even know they existed until i was an adult and actually could hardly believe that laws like that could be passed.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:02:44 AM EDT

[#19]

Not in Texas, maybe possible in unfenced front yard.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:04:10 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
I think if you are "in view" of the public they can.

Our city passed an ordinance (4th of July Parade related...250,000 extra people in a 250,000 population town) that curbed public consumption of alcohol in public view. No driveway drinking...etc.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:05:05 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I have always been told that if an officer comes to your house and you are drunk and he asks you to step outside to always invite him in or as soon as you come outside the house You are technically in public and can be arrested even on your own property.

I'll give you some better advice - don't even open the door if an officer comes to your house. That solves every conceivable problem right there.

Right up until they knock your door down to perform a "welfare check" on you for behaving "oddly".

Face it: In today's legal environment, you simply cannot win. Let law enforcement into your home, you can be arrested for something they find or observe. Don't let them in? They can break the door down, citing "exigent circumstances", and do the same thing, anyway. In some jurisdictions, we're not too far off from the sort of crap that you see in that Luc Besson movie, The Fifth Element.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:06:12 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
IF you are in any place which can be readily viewed/heard by someone lawfully in a public place(including your front porch, a passenger in a vehicle), you CAN be arrested for it.

Unless you're on a moped in SC. No such thing as DUI on mopeds, IIRC.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:09:44 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
I think if you are "in view" of the public they can.

Believe this is correct. The instant you walked out the door of your house you are considered to be "in public". Really depends on how your particular state defines it.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:10:26 AM EDT

[#24]

If a cop really wants to arrest you he will find something to arrest you for. Even if you arent doing anything wrong.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:11:17 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I have always been told that if an officer comes to your house and you are drunk and he asks you to step outside to always invite him in or as soon as you come outside the house You are technically in public and can be arrested even on your own property.

I'll give you some better advice - don't even open the door if an officer comes to your house. That solves every conceivable problem right there.

Right up until they knock your door down to perform a "welfare check" on you for behaving "oddly".

Face it: In today's legal environment, you simply cannot win. Let law enforcement into your home, you can be arrested for something they find or observe. Don't let them in? They can break the door down, citing "exigent circumstances", and do the same thing, anyway. In some jurisdictions, we're not too far off from the sort of crap that you see in that Luc Besson movie, The Fifth Element.

Make them kick it in. Seriously. That will ultimately result in a bigger win for you than whatever game they wanted to play when they knocked on your door, and they might be too chickenshit to do it anyway, with or without a reason to do it.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:13:42 AM EDT

[#26]

yes you can i was arrested in my front lawn for public intoxication

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:18:09 AM EDT

[#27]

Here it's "in a public place or in the presence of two or more persons" IIRC.

It'd be a big stretch for that in your neighbors yard (as long as you're welcome there, anyway).

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:20:30 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Here it's "in a public place or in the presence of two or more persons" IIRC.

It'd be a big stretch for that in your neighbors yard (as long as you're welcome there, anyway).

Doesn't sound like it would be much of a stretch at all. You're in the presence of two or more people as soon as one cop shows up (you plus him). Your neighbor wouldn't even have to be home.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:24:16 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Here it's "in a public place or in the presence of two or more persons" IIRC.

It'd be a big stretch for that in your neighbors yard (as long as you're welcome there, anyway).

Doesn't sound like it would be much of a stretch at all. You're in the presence of two or more people as soon as one cop shows up (you plus him). Your neighbor wouldn't even have to be home.

I forgot to mention, we don't count as one of those persons according to our prosecutor.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:30:15 AM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Here it's "in a public place or in the presence of two or more persons" IIRC.

It'd be a big stretch for that in your neighbors yard (as long as you're welcome there, anyway).

Doesn't sound like it would be much of a stretch at all. You're in the presence of two or more people as soon as one cop shows up (you plus him). Your neighbor wouldn't even have to be home.

I forgot to mention, we don't count as one of those persons according to our prosecutor.

Oh, well that makes it much harder then. So you just have to have one of the neighbors there with you. Or the cop can just wait for a kid to walk by on the sidewalk.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:30:41 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
I have always been told that if an officer comes to your house and you are drunk and he asks you to step outside to always invite him in or as soon as you come outside the house You are technically in public and can be arrested even on your own property.

nope. if you let him in you get a free ride anyway

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:31:40 AM EDT

[#32]

Where I work, it's rural enough that it is much harder.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:42:17 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
This nation is over lawed.

Best post in the entire thread.

The fact that we even have a thread where the majority of us are scratching our heads and stumbling over the ambiguities of public intoxication laws tells me all I need to know.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:53:13 AM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Being in the Justice System and dealing with PI on a weekly basis, I'll say " It depends".
In TX, as someone posted above, you can be arrested for being intoxicated in public. Your yard/porch is NOT public property unless you are a business.

Businesses are still on private property...

Open to the public means a business where customers can enter freely without making reservations or being invited in, but it is not public property like the street.

Posted: 7/15/2013 11:58:29 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
Judge put it best once: you have a right to masturbate in your castle, however that right ends at the drawbridge.

Awesome. Challenge accepted

Posted: 7/15/2013 12:21:00 PM EDT

[#36]

In the city I live there is no such thing as public intoxication. Our codified ordinance has "Intoxication". It states that (paraphrasing) No person, while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or substance, shall cause/create a disturbance, annoyance, or alarm...... or so intoxicated cant make clear and safe decisions for themselves or others. . Its basically a disorderly conduct. It is a minor misdemeanor. You get put in the drunk tank for 4-6 hours and released. The judge gives you credit for time served if you are found guilty so it doesn't even cost you anything. It is a great problem solver when drunk people can't act like adults and it keeps a lot of situations from escalating into Domestic Violence incidents. Its also used when people are so fall down drunk they are falling in the road etc etc

Posted: 7/15/2013 12:25:43 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
In the city I live there is no such thing as public intoxication. Our codified ordinance has "Intoxication". It states that (paraphrasing) No person, while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or substance, shall cause/create a disturbance, annoyance, or alarm...... or so intoxicated cant make clear and safe decisions for themselves or others. . Its basically a disorderly conduct. It is a minor misdemeanor. You get put in the drunk tank for 4-6 hours and released. The judge gives you credit for time served if you are found guilty so it doesn't even cost you anything. It is a great problem solver when drunk people can't act like adults and it keeps a lot of situations from escalating into Domestic Violence incidents. Its also used when people are so fall down drunk they are falling in the road etc etc

That's how it should be everywhere. I'm not even sure why the "drunk" part is needed in "drunk and disorderly." Merely being drunk shouldn't bother anyone, and causing a disturbance should be illegal whether you're drunk or not.

Posted: 7/15/2013 12:52:01 PM EDT

[#38]

I am truly surprised with all of the legitimate and helpful comments in GD. Thanks.

Posted: 7/15/2013 2:00:14 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:

Quoted:
What if I am having a cookout and everyone is drinking? Can they just come and arrest people? The law cannott be changed because you are being nice or being a dick. It is either legal or illegal. Kinda like gun rights.

The best way to find the answer is to look up your state's specific laws which should include a definition of what being "in public" is.

Most of them don't define that very well, if at all.

That doesn't surprise me but if I were the OP my first move would have been to look up the law, then I would be a little better informed before coming here with more questions.

Posted: 7/15/2013 2:06:09 PM EDT

[#40]

depends on you're state, but you generally have to be affecting the public in some way shape or form if you are on youre own property

Posted: 7/15/2013 3:39:53 PM EDT

[#41]

tired of this shit

Posted: 7/15/2013 4:23:33 PM EDT

[#42]

In my Mom's family there is a feud going on because one cousin was cited by another cousin for public intoxication for drinking beer while sitting on his front porch. He was in plain view from the street and that is the legal definition of "in public" that Virginia was enforcing the laws to. The LEO cousin's comments are that if the beer drinking cousin had been in his back yard, there would have been no ticket, but being visible from the street or sidewalk put him in public and therefore subject to the restrictions of drinking in public and public intoxication.

Posted: 7/15/2013 4:33:54 PM EDT

[#43]

My buddy had to go to court twice for drinking on his front porch. One was a beer the second was a jack and coke in a cup. Its also impossible to see him from the road. The cop used his driveway to turn around and saw him. He wasnt even drunk