Public Intoxication in Texas
<p>I was recently arrested for public intoxication after my friend was pulled over about 100 feet from his home. I was a passenger and had consumed 2 mixed drinks before being driven home
. Both of the arresting officers had body cameras and there's no way I could be considered a danger and I have no criminal record at all. One officer asked me to step out after my friend had also been asked the same and after talking with the officer, I was arrested and imprisoned over night and released on a PR bond. All of this appears extremely harsh and not proper but I've been told this sort of conviction is difficult to contest. Is there any point fighting this or spending lots of money on a lawyer (Cheapest one here is around $1,500)? </p>

<p>I'm guessing when you say 'public intoxication' you mean this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>§ 49.02. PUBLIC INTOXICATION.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Texas, a Class C misdemeanor is like a speeding ticket, or a theft by check of a small amount offense (Yes, speeding tickets in Texas ARE class C misdemeanors).</p>
<p>So you might want to see if there is a fine and what the city wants in terms of the fine. If you want to pay it, you'll have it on your record.</p>
<p>If it were me, I'd show up to the arraignment and then ask the prosecutor to agree to deferred adjudication and a few hundred dollar fine. Deferred means you promise to not get another citation for public intoxication for the next several months (whatever you can get the judge to agree with - which is typically 3 to 6 months) and then they'll dismiss your case - but only after you pay a disposition fee, which is likely a few hundred dollars more than the fine you'd pay, plus court costs.</p>
<p>But if they balked I'd make them give me a jury trial, and fight it <em>pro se</em> (on your own). If you truly only had 2 drinks and the video showed that you were a passenger, and weren't (as the law states) <strong>&quot;intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another&quot;</strong> then I'd ask for a not guilty verdict from the jury based on that.</p>
<p>If you really want to be sure to keep it off your record, then hiring an attorney might be best, but I think in that case all he'd do is ask the prosecutor to agree to deferred disposition and then ask the judge to agree to it.</p>

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