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wrongfull public drunk charge??

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chrisjames83

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


I was charged in sc with pi the other evening.heres how it went to the best of my knowledge.

I was at the bar and got wasted as i should.When leaving the bar someone i had met that night offered to give me a ride home.He had two other people that i had also met at the bar that night.he told me he was taking them to greenville.I was like ill ride with,i have nothing better to do.so we get to greenville to drop these guys off in what i guess was not the best of neighborhoods.One of the guys goes inside to retreive a few dollars for gas money.The cops pull up within 2 mins.I give them my id and they ask who had been drinking.Naturally i told them i was drunk(AS I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE,SEEIN AS HOW IM 27,AND SITTING IN SOMEONES PASSENGER SEAT).They pull me out of the vehicle.make me put my hands on the hood.i feel one of the officers move for my jacket pocket.I say to the officer that he has to ask my permission before he can unwarrently search me.I am immediately cuffed and charged with public drunk.I spent saturday in greenville county detention center.The only predisposition that i might have commited the crime if not coerced out of the vehicle is the fact that about 3 years ago in a sepreate incident i had been charged deservingly with p.i.,However It was a seperate incident.If i was not told to get out of the vehicle by the officer i would not have been publicly drunk as i would have been taken home and went to bed after the fact.Also apparently they did not see the driver as fit to drive as they put him in the car with me.However they took him to a gas staton to get a taxi cab.This whole situation seemed backwards.I had expected the search,but the mere fact that the officer moved for my pocket without asking to search made me suspiciouse of his intentions.
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
I was at the bar and got wasted as i should.
Why "should" you get "wasted" at a bar? If you want to get wasted, stay at home. When you get wasted in public, it can be an arrestable offense. And dangerous ta boot.

Naturally i told them i was drunk(AS I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE,SEEIN AS HOW IM 27,AND SITTING IN SOMEONES PASSENGER SEAT).They pull me out of the vehicle.make me put my hands on the hood.i feel one of the officers move for my jacket pocket.I say to the officer that he has to ask my permission before he can unwarrently search me.I am immediately cuffed and charged with public drunk.
What code section have you been charged with violating?

And, understand, that being in a vehicle IS being out in public. So, you were in public ... whether you were, indeed, intoxicated to a level that made your condition unlawful is a matter for the courts. (The code section would tell you what the state has to show in order to prove their case against you.)

I had expected the search,but the mere fact that the officer moved for my pocket without asking to search made me suspiciouse of his intentions.
Apparently they are likely to argue that it was a search pursuant to arrest, or, when they found a car full of drunks they articulated probable cause to search the occupants for alcohol. When your attorney gets a copy of the police report he will know what they were doing and why.
 
7 yrs of college down the drain ...... I doubt all the facts are presented here .. cops generally dont care about a guy who is drunk & not driving unless something else is afoot.

Anyway, cops are not talking to you to pass their time -- they are hoping you give them a reason to arrest you ... so don't talk to the cop, duh.
 

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