Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/403816
Law 101
Trucking
by Jim C. Klepper - Attorney at Law
800-333-DRIVE
www.interstatetrucker.com
www.driverslegalplan.com
24 www.studentdriverplacement.com November '14
Public Intoxication
I
have been charged with Public
Intoxication. Here is what hap-
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house and we were watching Ala-
bama football, Bar-B-Qing outside,
and drinking beer. Some of us got
to feeling real good and were really
yelling ROLL TIDE a lot.
No one in the neighborhood likes
the neighbor next door who called
the cops on us because he is a jerk.
The cops came and wrote me a tick-
et for Public Intoxication, told us to
hold it down and then left.
My court date is in three weeks
and I need to know if this will affect
my CDL and my job. My cousin says
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it will not go on my record. What
should I do? – Roger R., Alabama
Public Intoxication, or in some juris-
dictions called drunk and disorderly, in
Alabama is the offense of appearing
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ence of alcohol or drugs. Acting drunk
is not a crime but if your actions annoy
another person(s) with your offensive
or boisterous behavior, or if your ac-
tions endanger you or another person,
or property you may be guilty of Public
Intoxication which has a maximum jail
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$200, Ala. Code §§ 13A-5-7, 13A-5-12,
13A-11-10.
Remember Public Intoxication must
be in a public place and Alabama de-
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public or substantial group of people
have access. Here are a few examples
of public places: highways, schools,
parks, common areas of apartment
buildings, amusement places, trans-
portations facilities, even a car parked
near a public thoroughfare.
So what is not a public place? Ala-
bama law states that no private dwell-
ing, and no place used for a private
gathering, is considered a public place
as long as the person has been invited
to the private gathering. This is how
you can rent a private room at a club
or restaurant and not violate the law
because that private room is not ac-
cessible by the general public, only the
people invited.
So what could you claim as a de-
fense to the Public Intoxication charge?
First, and most important, you could
claim you were not in a public place
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