Open container citation

[Jayd1135]

What is the name of your state? California
I was given a ticket for walking with a empty red cup. I was drinking outside my friends house waiting for my uber. I finished my drink before getting into the uber but I didnt want to leave my trash in the car. I was trying to throw away the cup but the officer stopped me and took the cup before I could find a trash can. Is it possible to fight the ticket

 

[FlyingRon]

What were you cited with? 23223 VC? A completely empty cup doesn't meet the terms of that section (though you'd better not have had one drop left in it).

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? California
I was given a ticket for walking with a empty red cup. I was drinking outside my friends house waiting for my uber. I finished my drink before getting into the uber but I didnt want to leave my trash in the car. I was trying to throw away the cup but the officer stopped me and took the cup before I could find a trash can. Is it possible to fight the ticket

What attracted the attention of the police?

 

[CdwJava]

What is the name of your state? California
I was given a ticket for walking with a empty red cup. I was drinking outside my friends house waiting for my uber. I finished my drink before getting into the uber but I didnt want to leave my trash in the car. I was trying to throw away the cup but the officer stopped me and took the cup before I could find a trash can. Is it possible to fight the ticket

No, you were not cited for possessing an empty cup, you were cited for an open container of alcohol. What code section was used? The elements might vary between a local municipal or county code and the state's Business & Professions code (usually B&P 25620).

I take it you were at a party and the police responded to a complaint and you happened to be the unlucky sot caught outside with a cup of whatever alcohol was being dispensed?

Yes, it is POSSIBLE to fight the ticket, but there is no way to say how successful you might be. These are generally pretty open-and-shut matters and are often handled in Traffic Court in many (most?) counties - no attorneys involved.

In the future, keep in mind that if there are minors consuming alcohol at these parties, you can also be charged with a contributing to the delinquency of a minor offense. Careless partying can result in unintended and long term consequences to one's future.

 

[quincy]

I want to applaud your decision to call for an Uber after you had been drinking, by the way. Many are not that smart and will either drive themselves home or rely on a drive from a friend who also had been drinking.

 

[CdwJava]

I want to applaud your decision to call for an Uber after you had been drinking, by the way. Many are not that smart and will either drive themselves home or rely on a drive from a friend who also had been drinking.

Uber and Lyft are becoming more frequent for at least the 21 and over crowd. I live near a college town and work in another and these businesses flourish ... though, for how long - given new legislation passed - is another question.

In the small town where I worked for many years we had a guy who started his own "designated driver" service (he was Uber before there was an Uber) and his actions certainly contributed to a drastic drop in DUI arrests. I am a firm believer that these services are valuable and have a direct and positive effect on public safety.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Uber and Lyft are becoming more frequent for at least the 21 and over crowd. I live near a college town and work in another and these businesses flourish ... though, for how long - given new legislation passed - is another question.

That legislation, for those outside of California who may not be aware, is an Act passed this year in California that redefines the criteria for qualifying as an employee. The new requirements were designed to go after gig economy arrangements like Uber, Lyft, and others that treat their workforce as independent contractors and unless those companies find a successful legal argument to say the new law does not apply to them then come January 1 Uber and Lyft will have to treat their California drivers as employees. That will also open up the possibility of driver unionization, too.

Treating them as employees will significantly add to the costs of these firms, and despite all the business that they do neither Uber nor Lyft are yet profitable. At the last quarterly earnings report, Uber posted a $5.2 billion loss and Lyft posted a $644 million loss. Uber is significantly larger in scale worldwide, contributing to the larger loss. Right now it's not at all clear if these firms will ever reach a point of profitability, and the additional costs of having their workforce as employees will make that even harder.

On the other side of that, though, is that after all their costs the drivers don't make a whole lot of money and some have trouble making an income sufficient to live on with their driving even if they do it full time. They also lack access to the various benefits that they would be entitled to get, especially in California which mandates a number of employee benefits. It was this issue that motivated the legislation.

However well intentioned the legislation, it may well result in a significant hit to the gig economy businesses. That might prove in the end to be counter productive to the state. Hopefully other states and the federal government will wait and see how the California experiment goes before going down that path themselves.

 

[CdwJava]

I know a great many people who work supplemental jobs as Uber, Lyft, and even Doordash contractors. They do not intend it to be a living wage, they intend it to supplement their normal job. Or, if they are students, they enjoy the flexibility in the hours. Unlike traditional employers that set days and hours that can often conflict with other responsibilities (school, work, family), they can work when they want to with these sorts of jobs and this new legislation stands a good chance of removing this option. However, Uber has stated that they have no plans to change their business model and believe they can make a case for one of the exemptions in the law.

The other issue with this is that the largest trucking firms in the state - perhaps in the nation - may have to restructure and will ultimately result on greater shipping costs. Coupled with our increasing gas prices (mostly from new taxes), and we may well see an unprecedented spike in most everything here. It seems to be unknown just how much of an impact this might have on agricultural workers, but it could cause a lot of pain in that multi-billion dollar industry here as well ... resulting in more costs.

Another grand idea from our glorious state legislature.

 

[quincy]

Uber has said that New York City could be the make-it-or-break-it for the company.

 

[Jayd1135]

What attracted the attention of the police?

I was on my way to an outdoors festival. The uber had dropped me off near the entrance. It was probably about a 5 minute walk. I figured there would be a trash can by the entrance and since it no longer had any alcohol I didnt think it would have been a problem. The officers were just walking around. It was probably just the fact that it was a red cup that got their attention.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Another grand idea from our glorious state legislature.

Your legislature's "grand ideas" are the main reason I have declined several California job/law practice opportunities over the years. I don't fancy living in the PRC (People's Republic of California).

 

[quincy]

I was on my way to an outdoors festival. The uber had dropped me off near the entrance. It was probably about a 5 minute walk. I figured there would be a trash can by the entrance and since it no longer had any alcohol I didnt think it would have been a problem. The officers were just walking around. It was probably just the fact that it was a red cup that got their attention.

Thank you for returning to the forum to answer my question, Jayd1135.

I agree that the red cup might have been the reason the officer noticed you.

Good luck.

 

[CdwJava]

I was on my way to an outdoors festival. The uber had dropped me off near the entrance. It was probably about a 5 minute walk. I figured there would be a trash can by the entrance and since it no longer had any alcohol I didnt think it would have been a problem. The officers were just walking around. It was probably just the fact that it was a red cup that got their attention.

What was the code section you were cited for?