Posted on 10/20/2012 6:38:19 PM PDT by yankee turned redneck
My son got arrested and paid a fine for drunk in public. The police had no reason to subject him for a sobriety check. Isn't that like a unlawful search/seizure? Can he go back and change his plea and fight it to get it off his record?
Thanks
Like I asked isn’t this like unlawful search and seizure?? He did nothing wrong other than having drinks and walking home.
The best place to get advice of this nature is a bar. If you have a pub in your neighborhood go in in the evening and there should be several experts present
He’s over 18, isn’t he? He’s an adult, not a child. Why don’t you let him deal with it? He made the adult decision to get drunk, the adult decision to be out in public drunk, the adult decision to plead guilty. The horse has left the barn—and your son, a grown man, has left the house. Let him conduct his own life and solve his own problems instead of looking for some way to get him off the hook for something he really did.
What more could a guy ask for.
Pay for a good attorney and fight it.
“So If I get drunk at a bar and wisely chose to walk home, I may subject to arrest?”
I know of a case where this exact situation occurred in Auburn, Al. A guy went to a bar about a half mile from his house for last stop of the night. Decided to walk home instead of drive; got arrested for public intoxication. Even the cops in the neighboring town of Opelika thought it was the stupidest thing they had ever heard of. The Auburn cops could have given him a ride if they were worried about his safety.
On the off chance you don't know how things work in small town America -
From what you have indicated, there were two cops and one arrestee. If he drags it into court, I'll guarantee that the cops will have their story straight and will testify as to plenty of probable cause. And if he disputes it, it will just be more evidence that he was too drunk to realize how drunk he was.
Then, unless the judge dislikes the cops for some reason, he's going to find your son guilty to protect the cops and the taxpayers.
And finally, since he put everyone to the trouble of a trial, he may well get jail time instead of just a fine.
But if you and your son want a full education, send him the $10K I mentioned above (since this wasn't in California, DC, or the urban northeast) and the right lawyer might be able to fix things.
Glad you are not my dad, no offense. You go to the wall for your kids in my book. Mess with one of my kids and you have trouble on your hands.
In Texas .08 is a formality. Police can charge DWI after one beer IF the officer says your driving was impaired. It happens all the time.
Sounds arbitrary and capricious. I’m surprised such a subjective assessment with such costly, dire consequences has been allowed to stand in Texas.
Frame it and put it next to his graduate certificate.
Cops don’t randomly give people not driving sobriety tests. I would have never agreed to one. You’re not driving and there probably isn’t any law governing such a circumstance. Perhaps he parked his car around the corner when he saw the cops and decided to walk? That sounds more likely. Is he underage?
Where is the probable cause?
I concur but it happens frequently in Texas. I said charged with DWI but don’t know if convicted at trial. As you might know many can’t afford competent legal representation and plea guilty.
This also means that if you have a BAC that is within the legal limit, you can still be charged with a DWI. This is up to the discretion of the arresting officer. If he or she believes that you are not operating within your normal faculties, you can be arrested no matter what your BAC is. Because the officer bases what is normal off of his or her own experience, it can be easy to arrest you for DWI.
http://www.dallasdwilawyer.cc/articles/dwi-under-08-bac/
Sounds like quite the field day for a corrupt officer to me, being able to override an objective legal standard with subjective opinion in every instance. Again, I’m surprised this is allowed to stand in Texas.
Drunk in public charges usually means the person was acting in a manner suggesting public drunkenness....stumbling,peeing on a building, walking in the street....all sorts of stuff. If the police detained him on such a suspicion they have the authority to conduct a sobriety check
If I were you I would be much more concerned that a child of mine was drunk in public or private. My guess is the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
You sound as if you want your kid to get off. You ought to be paying attention to what your child is doing. Being drunk at any age and encountering the police is not a good sign
what you should tell him is to quit drinking....he obviously can’t handle the booze.
yes
you weren’t there. your son was drunk why would you believe him?
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