Procedure to handle drunk person

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina


Not exactly sure if this is write place to write this but I have a few questions about a situation that happened to me yesterday at a college football game.

Me and some friends started tailgating getting ready for the football game at like 530am (we were painting our entire bodies black and then drawing on bones to make us look like skeletons, because our student section is called the bone yard). We were drinking all morning, but I think I got a little bit too much right before we left for stadium at 9:30 and it hit me when we got to the stadium around 10.

The next think I know I woke up at 5pm in an orange jumpsuit in the county jail. It took me an hour after I woke up to get any paperwork on why I was in Jail. Which turned out to be second degree trespassing. Then it took about another hour of begging them before they would give me a phone call so I could have my parents come bail me out.

All the ticket said was that I was arrested without a warrant under the probable cause that I entered the property (the university) willfully, after being told not to be on the premises.

None of my friends said they saw me do anything worthy of getting kicked out for, except that they told me to not spit over the railing about an hour before the game started.

But what I can gather from talking to people, is that I was so drunk to the point that I could not walk or even know where I was at and that one of my friends found me downstairs looking like I was walking towards the exit and brought me back up to the stands. Then about 10min later the cops came and asked to talk to me.

So my guess is that when I went downstairs to use the bathroom I was told to leave, and when I was leaving my friend saw me and lead me back up the stairs to the stands (as I was completely black out drunk and had no idea what was going on). And this was me "returning after being told to leave''. The only other possibility would be they escorted me out and I came back in, which I see as highly unlikely since I no longer had a ticket and security is very tough.

But either way it was obvious that I was extremely intoxicated and could not function.

So my main question is, should I have really been arrested and booked in jail for trespassing at a football game I had a ticket to, when It was obvious to the cop I was not in the condition to know what was going on. If anything shouldn't it have just been a public intoxication charge where they threw me in holding until I sobered up? Because had I just left when they told me, I would have probably just stumbled into the street or something because everyone I was with was in the stadium. I had no way of getting home or going anywhere.

Secondly, when I got to jail (the only part I remember from any of this). The phones in booking were broken so they tried to get me to call someone with my cell phone, but I was too out of it to be able to work my cell phone. All I could tell them that my sister and parents were at the game and would come get me. And since I could not use the phone they went ahead and booked me, jump suit and all, and counted that as my phone call.

Shouldn't they have left me in holding or detox or something until I was at least sober enough to know what was going on? I thought you had to be able to sign something saying your writes were read to you and you under stood them, I obviously did not understand anything that was going on.

Thanks for any help!

You ask whether or not they should have kept you around until you sobered but, but it definitely looks that's exactly what they did, right?

Your theory that you should not be held accountable for your actions while intoxicated is completely ludicrous. Please allow me to make an extreme example to prove this point: if, while you were "black out drunk", you managed to kill somebody, are you suggesting that you shouldn't be held accountable for that? Of course you are responsible for your actions while intoxicated, and that's part of the reasons why there are laws out there against being intoxicated while in public.

If you were told to leave, and you did not, that is indeed considered trespassing. And don't worry, I'm certain that the drunk in public charge is most certainly forthcoming (they likely have at least a year to file that charge against you).

You raised a point about signing indicating you know your rights. You are completely off base here. I'm sure what you are thinking about is something called Miranda Rights. Please note that not being read your rights does not somehow negate the charges. These rights give you the ability to remain silent, so the only real importance of the rights is that after an arrest, they must read you your rights before an interrogation, and the failure of that means that any statements you made could not be held against you in court. My guess is that they don't need your statements to win this slam-dunk case, so reading you your rights was completely NOT required.

So, have you actually been charged with anything? If so, what? Please provide the actual code(s) being charged against you. On top of whatever information we can provide based on that, depending on what these charges may be it will likely be a good idea so speak with an attorney. Many attorneys will offer free/cheap consultations, so you should take advantage of this and sit down with a couple to see what insight they may have to offer.

I in no way am saying I am not responsible for my actions, but rather, me, nor the people I was with, think I did the charges i was arrested for.

But here is what my Magistrate's order says.

I, the undersigned, find that the defendant named above has been arrested without a warrant and the defendant's detention is justified because there is probable cause to believe that on or about the date of offense shown and in the county named above the defendant named above unlawfully and willfully did without authorization enter and remain on the premises of *** *** University, Located ****,** after the defendant had been notified not to enter and remain there by OFFICER ****, the owner, person in charge of the premises, lawful occupant and authorized person.

1 Second Degree Trespass

Offense Code(s)
I 5709

Offense In Violation of G.S.
I 14-159.13


Almost everyone I was with is convinced that the officers meant to arrest my friend who had been puking in the stands but got us confused, they said I was just standing there not doing anything when the cop came over.

That aside.. The report has the wrong address at where the event happened, They stated the University and used the address of the campus police department, and no mention of the football stadium or anywhere in that area.

They also have my home address listed wrong..

But the bail bondsman (not too sure how reliable of a source since not a lawyer) said that most likely the charges will be dropped because I am a student at the university, and since they just said trespassing on campus, he does not think a charge of trespassing on a college campus you attend will hold up unless you were kicked out of school or something (as in no longer enrolled).

And that the officer may have done me a favor charging me with trespassing, because trespassing might not hold up, while a drunk in public charge would definitely hold up.

If you were told to leave and you came back, it matters not if you were a student or it's a college campus or not. They can make the charges stick. You're right bailbondsmen are not lawyers.

$300 fine and/or 30 days.

I suggest that you get help with your drinking problem...