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As a San Antonio Public Intoxication lawyer and founding father of Trey Porter Legislation, I discuss with individuals each week who’re scared, embarrassed, and confused about how an strange evening grew to become a felony arrest. The very first thing to grasp is easy: you will be arrested for Public Intoxication in San Antonio with out driving, with out taking a breath check, and with out appearing the way in which most individuals think about a “drunk” individual acts.
This text explains how Public Intoxication arrests occur in San Antonio, why the cost can occur to nearly anyone, what the results are, and why pursuing a Public Intoxication dismissal issues.
Most individuals image Public Intoxication as somebody stumbling via the road, beginning a struggle, or making a scene. In actuality, the cost typically begins with a police officer making a judgment about an individual’s situation, environment, and potential security danger.
Texas Public Intoxication legislation doesn’t use a selected blood alcohol focus, or BAC, to find out whether or not somebody needs to be arrested. Beneath Texas Penal Code § 49.02, the query is whether or not an individual appeared in a public place whereas intoxicated to the diploma that they might endanger themselves or another person.
That leaves a terrific deal to commentary and interpretation. An individual could also be talking clearly, know the place they’re, and don’t have any intention of inflicting issues. They might merely be drained, emotional, unsteady, separated from associates, ready for a trip, or standing someplace an officer believes one thing might go mistaken.
After greater than 15 years dealing with intoxication-related circumstances, I’ve seen this occur to individuals from each background. Public Intoxication just isn’t reserved for “troublemakers.” It might probably occur to anyone.
I’ve represented medical doctors and nurses from UT Well being San Antonio, service members stationed at Joint Base San Antonio, UTSA college students, retired lecturers, out-of-town professionals, hospitality employees, guests, and other people from practically each stroll of life.
Most individuals arrested for Public Intoxication in San Antonio have by no means been arrested earlier than.
How an strange evening turns into an arrest
San Antonio provides individuals numerous causes to be out. It could be dinner on the River Stroll, a Spurs sport, Fiesta, a night on the Pearl, a marriage, a live performance, or a visit via San Antonio Worldwide Airport.
Most nights finish with no downside. However a small complication can rapidly change every part. A cellphone dies. A rideshare cancels. Mates depart with out realizing somebody has been left behind. A resort visitor turns into sick. An individual sits on a curb to gather themselves. An argument attracts the eye of safety or San Antonio Police.
None of these conditions routinely means somebody is harmful or uncontrolled. However as soon as police turn into concerned, strange habits could also be considered via the lens of intoxication and potential hazard.
A Public Intoxication arrest can occur on a sidewalk, in a parking zone, exterior a bar, inside a resort, on the airport, or in one other place open to the general public. No automobile, accident, damage, breath check, or blood check is required.
For a fast rationalization of how these circumstances start, watch our video about Public Intoxication arrests in San Antonio.
The implications are greater than the nice
Public Intoxication is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a nice of as much as $500. As a result of the utmost punishment is a nice, individuals typically assume the cost isn’t any extra critical than a site visitors ticket.
That could be a critical mistake.
The arrest could embrace handcuffs, transportation, reserving, and hours in custody. After launch, the individual nonetheless has a felony case which may be filed in San Antonio Municipal Courtroom or a Bexar County magistrate court docket.
Merely paying the nice resolves the case as a conviction. That conviction can stay on an individual’s felony document and seem in background checks.
A conviction can create questions throughout a job search, professional-license renewal, army assessment, security-clearance investigation, faculty disciplinary matter, graduate-school utility, house utility, or volunteer background examine. For a customer, the cost can imply coping with a San Antonio court docket lengthy after the journey has ended.
One evening mustn’t outline an individual
Good individuals have dangerous nights. Accountable adults misjudge a drink, turn into overwhelmed, lose monitor of associates, or discover themselves within the mistaken place on the mistaken second.
And typically police make dangerous arrests.
The expertise will be embarrassing and scary, particularly for somebody who has by no means been inside a jail or courtroom. However embarrassment mustn’t trigger anybody to disregard the cost or pay the nice with out understanding what that call means.
A conviction just isn’t inevitable. A Public Intoxication dismissal can forestall a felony conviction and permit the arrest and court docket information to be cleared via expunction.
A Public Intoxication arrest doesn’t must outline your future. Learn the way San Antonio Public Intoxication attorneys assist individuals pursue dismissal and shield their information, or contact Trey Porter Legislation at 210-673-1180 for a free, confidential session.
