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Arrested for drinking on the beach

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ATENANT89

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I was drinking on Venice beach and two cops rolled up and arrested me. I was booked with Drinking in Public and released on $20 bail. Court date is in a few weeks.

How can I get this reduced and how can I get it off my record? I didn't think drinking on the beach constituted an arrest either.
 


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Isis1

Senior Member
Thanks for bumping!

I saw Carl post today, hopefully he'll log back on.

Normally, an arrest wouldn't be warranted, however how intoxicated were you? They may have just kept you to dry out. Are you over the age of 21? Fo you have any previous convictions?
 
CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
Unless otherwise stated in the code, elements of the LA Municipal Code are generally misdemeanors.

41.27(c) No person shall drink any malt, spirituous or vinous liquor containing more than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume, upon any street, sidewalk or parkway, park, playground, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, or in any railroad depot or bus station, or in any public place, or in any place open to the patronage of the public, which premises are not licensed for the consumption of such liquor on the premises.​
So, by drinking the alcohol in public you committed a misdemeanor. And while misdemeanors may be released with a citation there does not appear to be any mandate in Los Angeles that they must be.

Has this been filed as a misdemeanor or an infraction? Is it being heard in criminal court or traffic court? If it is being pursued as a misdemeanor, then you could face up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine (unlikely) and as such you should be eligible for publicly appointed counsel if you cannot afford an attorney. If filed as an infraction, then you are on your own and could only be subject to a fine (which, off the top of my head, would max. out at about $500).

Release on $20 bail is ... bizarre. I can only think that you did or said something to tick off the officer that contacted you. Most the time these matters would be released with a citation and not involve a custodial arrest.
 
A

ATENANT89

Member
CdwJava said:
Unless otherwise stated in the code, elements of the LA Municipal Code are generally misdemeanors.

41.27(c) No person shall drink any malt, spirituous or vinous liquor containing more than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume, upon any street, sidewalk or parkway, park, playground, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, or in any railroad depot or bus station, or in any public place, or in any place open to the patronage of the public, which premises are not licensed for the consumption of such liquor on the premises.​
So, by drinking the alcohol in public you committed a misdemeanor. And while misdemeanors may be released with a citation there does not appear to be any mandate in Los Angeles that they must be.

Has this been filed as a misdemeanor or an infraction? Is it being heard in criminal court or traffic court? If it is being pursued as a misdemeanor, then you could face up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine (unlikely) and as such you should be eligible for publicly appointed counsel if you cannot afford an attorney. If filed as an infraction, then you are on your own and could only be subject to a fine (which, off the top of my head, would max. out at about $500).

Release on $20 bail is ... bizarre. I can only think that you did or said something to tick off the officer that contacted you. Most the time these matters would be released with a citation and not involve a custodial arrest.
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Me being arrested is mostly mine and my friends fault. I took all the blame for the alcohol so I would be the only one to get in trouble so officer was ticked off that he couldnt prosecute all of us. One of my friends was really drunk and tried to talk the cop out of fining me. Officers got nervous since there were a ton of college students recording the whole thing on their cellphones and decided it would be easier to arrest me. I think they were making an example out of me but it was deserved.

My main concern is that I really don't want to have this on my criminal record. It would ruin my future job prospects in this economy and my chances of getting into graduate school as well.

The bail was set at $20 after the officer asked how much money I had in my wallet and I told him about $15 cause he didn't want me to get out without having to call someone.
 
B

Banned_Princess

Senior Member
ATENANT89 said:
The bail was set at $20 after the officer asked how much money I had in my wallet and I told him about $15 cause he didn't want me to get out without having to call someone.
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Not anything pertaining to your arrest, I just want to touch on the statement above. (your officer knew how much you had, so I dont know why he even bothered to ask you how much you had... )

This has happened to me once.


Once, an officer knew I didn't have any ID, so there was no way I could be bailed out, but after counting my cash, he set my bail to exactly what I had... then laughed that even tho I had bail money, I didn't have any ID.

Soooo I spent the night and ACOD'd at the arraignment bench in the morning. So in the end it was better I spent the night and handled it right then, instead of bailing out, and spending months getting to the same ACOD.

Hilarious officer SCPD, real funny thank you.
 
CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
Bail is not set by officers in CA, they are set by the court. How they got a $20 bail is a mystery to me unless that is all that is required for some reason for muni code violations. This sounds a little suspicious to me.

If you hire an attorney (likely a minimum of $1,500 without a trial) he might be able to negotiate a plea to an infraction. On the other hand, the state might file it as an infraction to begin with. So, you might want to wait and see what the violation is filed as - if it is filed at all.
 
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