OK, my buddy (and yes, it was my friend and not me...I'd fully admit to this) was at a friend's house this past weekend having several drinks. As the party came to an end, many found themselves too drunk to drive. Being the responsible citizens that they are, most of them decided to stay at the house, including my friend. However, all the rooms were taken, so he decided to sleep in his car, which was in the private driveway of his friend's house. Later that morning, he is awoken by cops and arrested for public intoxication. They told him they could do this since he was within view of anyone that could be walking or driving by. Is this right?
That doesn't sound good. Some thing like that happened to my friend who fell asleep (passed out) in his car, he was drinking in the apartment but went to his truck to listen to some of his XM radio music, and there slept. He was awoken by cops later that night, who tried to give him a dwi.
That may well be the law, but if that is the true standard, then drinking in your home with the blinds open would be subject to a potential charge.
Get a criminal lawyer. He can beat it imho. Is it worth it for just a p.i. ? I guess it depends. Could be expensive if the DA's don't drop that piece of sh** and you have to go to trial. In a driveway. Give me a break.
technically, i think this is right...you have many more privacy expectations (according to SCOTUS over the years) in your own home with the windows open than you ever do in a car. there's a lot of talk in those opinions about how cars themselves are regulated...that driving is a privilege...blah, blah, blah. bottom line is, i think the officer is right. but that doesn't mean that the prosecutor won't come down on any penalty involved. i would bet a good attorney could talk it down to next to nothing.
The law on a PI in Texas is that you are in public, having consumed a level of alcohol enough to deprive you of your mental and physical facilities, such that you are a danger to yourself and others. "Public" is the trickier area to define, but can be stretched to include any area that isn't inside a private residence. A car is definitely in public if it's outside. A private driveway that's not fenced in is in public. The "danger to themself or others" section might be the only other sticking point in your friend's case. Normally, someone in a vehicle with the car keys can be seen as a danger - he could at any point put those keys in the ignition and start driving, drunk. The fact that he was asleep calls that somewhat into doubt, though if I was prosecuting I'd point out that there was a chance of him waking up at any point.
I think he was likely more deprived of his physical and mental faculties by sleeping than by drinking. On the other hand, I doubt his public intoxication would have aroused enough attention to get the police out unless he was doing something drunken. Would you notice someone in a car if they were really just sleeping? Otherwise, I remember a case long ago where a couple was being charged with public lewdness or some such for having sex in a car. And, it made the news because the court had decided that they had enough expectation of privacy in a car. Of course, I don't know if the decision stood or what or what happened with the judge after that. I get the feeling that a precedent like that would be overwhelmed with decisions going the other way.
After the cops woke him up, did they put him through the field sobriety tests to determine that he was drunk or did they just assume he was drunk because he was sleeping in a car? I don't see how sleeping in a car (in a private driveway) constitutes public drunkenness, considering he is not causing any problems for anyone. How did they even know he was in the car? Did someone call and complain?
This is only a class C offense. It'll be handled in municipal court or in a JP. Your options include asking for deferred adjudication and paying the fine, or, if one desires, setting it for a trial. It's all up to you, though. Sam Cassell quoted the statute correctly on this. A "public place" is defined as "any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, *but is not limited to*, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops." I have seen circumstances where PI's have been given that I have a big problem with. In these instances, I have dismissed the cases out of JP court. As you know, it depends on who is prosecuting the case. Good luck.
