I know there are several lawyers that regularly contribute to the bbs, so I am certain someone can answer my question. Can I be charged with public intoxication in my own driveway?? A cop pulled up behind me after I pulled into my home on saturday and arrested me for public intoxication. Obviously, I was on private property. He also ticketed me for an open container for a crushed beer can he found under the passenger seat that I don't know where came from. I plead guilty to the open container and have a $250 fine. Also, what is the time limit for "speedy trial"? Because my court date is not until the end of April. Should I hire a lawyer? Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.
I am fairly certain you will get off. Sounds like crap to me. I have been ticketed for related offenses and had my tickets dismissed. One time I actually got a ticket for walking while intoxicated. It was because I was next to a road, maybe that is what he gave you. I got off though because I told the judge I was walking to avoid driving and waiting for my friend to pick me up. Cops can be dicks, they have quotas to fill.
Isn't that better than a DUI? I mean you did just pull into your driveway and he found your drunk? If I'm understanding this correctly, I'd be happy to only get a public intoxication ticket
If he saw you driving he could arrest you for DWI. Please explain that detail a little more. If that was the case you should feel lucky.
I’m not a lawyer or a cop, but a high school buddy of mine is a cop and he told me about a tactic they use particularly in domestic disputes. Cops hate domestics, and often there is little they can do. They get called to a house and everybody’s drunk and not quite enough has happened yet for them to be able to charge anybody, but they can tell that the situation is about to get ugly as soon as they leave. What are you going to do? So they ask the most likely culprit to go for a walk on the front lawn to talk about things. Now, an often overlooked fact is that the front 10 to 15 feet of most city lawns is actually public property. It’s a utility right of way for the city. So they walk the guy onto the front part of the lawn, then they nab the guy for being drunk in a public place and throw him in the drunk tank for the night. In the morning he’s sober and everybody is still in one piece. So this is a long winded explanation to say that even in your driveway you may still have been on public property if you were out by the curb.
I'm a law student. Kinda busy right now, but I can point you in the right direction. http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/petoc.html That's a link to the Texas state penal code. Look at the offense as defined there... and see if your conduct seems to meet it. The penal code also includes potential punishments, etc, and definitions of terms (speedy trial, probably).
The cop could have seen me driving, I'm not sure. Although, I had already parked and was getting my golf clubs out of my trunk and was really not paying attention to cars driving by.
Of course, in Dallas, they probably just plant fake drugs on the guy and haul him off to jail with felony cocaine charges hanging over his head. What do they do if the person isn't drunk, do they walk him over to a neighbors house and arrest him for trespassing or burglary?
I've heard of police officers giving a PI instead of a DUI when they were able to do so. The paperwork is much less on their part -- and the charge is MUCH less serious for you. Don't mess around with it. Hire an attourney. You should be able to hire an attourney that will charge a reasonable fee to represent you in court. (Usually, the fee is offset by the fine you would otherwise have to pay.) There are several who have offices within walking distance of the courthouse, who do a lot of these. They know the prosecutors, judges, and the relavant laws. If there are technicalities, they can get you off easily. If not, they can probably bargain away the more serious offense. Don't try to represent yourself. This is much too serious.
I think i'm missing something here. Were you really drunk or was the cop just harassing you? How long did he follow you before you pulled into your driveway? I guess my main question is did you get really lucky or really unlucky?
Sounds to me he did you a favor by not charging you with a DWI and hopes you don't repeat. I am assuming you were intoxicated. That said I think with a PI you also have to be a potential threat or nuisance or something--so you might get off entirely.
He didn’t say, but I think the vast majority of the serious problems occur when somebody, or everybody, is drunk or otherwise impaired. I thought that that wasn’t that bad a solution, actually, but it is a little marginal from a legal standpoint. As long at there aren't any big fines or charges involved, that is. There are worse outcomes than a night in the drunk tank.
