Public Intoxication in the passenger seat of a car going home

Hello, my name is Gabriel and I live in Texas. Last month some friends and I went out and I had drank so i decided to leave my car at the reteraunt and catch a ride with my friend who also had been drinking but seemed to be ok to drive. On our way home we were pulled over for rolling through a stop sign while getting onto the freeway. The officer asked where we were coming from and I had stated that I had indeed been drinking(did not say how much) and that I did not want to get behind the wheel and so my friend is taking me home. The driver was asked to get out and perform a series of field tests. When I saw he was doing these tests I yelled to my friend at that time "not to do the tests and to get a lawyer before he do anything else". The officer told me to shut up and continued with what eventually led to the arrest of the driver. The officer then came to my side of the car and asked me to step out and put my hands behind my back. The officer said i was being arrested for Public Intoxication. I told the cop I was not IN PUBLIC.... and that I was sitting in the privacy of my friends vehicle which is not deemed a public place. The officer then walked me back to the police vehicle and detained me. The officer did not perform ANY tests at all to determine I was drunk. In fact, in the police report the officer stated that i was slumped over in my seat and incoherent! The report continued to say that I was too intoxicated to perform any tests and that for my own safety they just arrested me. I had pre trial today and told the judge that 1, i was not drunk, and 2 i did not believe that being being in a car driving home is a public place. To my understanding, Texas law states that one commits the act of public intoxication(1) "... if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another." (1)A "public place" is a "...place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes but is not limited to streets, highways, schools, hospitals, apt houses, office build, transport facilities, and shops"(2)
Does the status of the roadway being public extand to the vehicle traveling on that road?
Please help? I dont want to have this on my record and I feel my rights were violated.

Make sure you get legal counsel (or at least the public defender) to try to keep this off your record eventually--jail time is not likely if your record is clear now. But having that arrest and/or a conviction on your record could make job-hunting etc. more difficult. Often this could be negotiated down to some kind of court supervision or even be dismissed etc. If it eventually appears it cannot be negotiated down, or you need to discuss this in more detail with senior counsel to review options etc., please let us know...

In Texas, Private cars in a public place constitute a public place for public intoxication as many jurisdictions have held.

[tswift]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello, my name is Gabriel and I live in Texas. Last month some friends and I went out and I had drank so i decided to leave my car at the reteraunt and catch a ride with my friend who also had been drinking but seemed to be ok to drive. On our way home we were pulled over for rolling through a stop sign while getting onto the freeway. The officer asked where we were coming from and I had stated that I had indeed been drinking(did not say how much) and that I did not want to get behind the wheel and so my friend is taking me home. The driver was asked to get out and perform a series of field tests. When I saw he was doing these tests I yelled to my friend at that time "not to do the tests and to get a lawyer before he do anything else". The officer told me to shut up and continued with what eventually led to the arrest of the driver. The officer then came to my side of the car and asked me to step out and put my hands behind my back. The officer said i was being arrested for Public Intoxication. I told the cop I was not IN PUBLIC.... and that I was sitting in the privacy of my friends vehicle which is not deemed a public place. The officer then walked me back to the police vehicle and detained me. The officer did not perform ANY tests at all to determine I was drunk. In fact, in the police report the officer stated that i was slumped over in my seat and incoherent! The report continued to say that I was too intoxicated to perform any tests and that for my own safety they just arrested me. I had pre trial today and told the judge that 1, i was not drunk, and 2 i did not believe that being being in a car driving home is a public place. To my understanding, Texas law states that one commits the act of public intoxication(1) "... if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another." (1)A "public place" is a "...place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes but is not limited to streets, highways, schools, hospitals, apt houses, office build, transport facilities, and shops"(2)
Does the status of the roadway being public extand to the vehicle traveling on that road?
Please help? I dont want to have this on my record and I feel my rights were violated.

I hate to tell you this but the Officer is correct.

I believe this charge is just a Minor Misdemeanor in Texas... Is this correct?

I think you made your mistake when you shouted to your buddy not to take the sobriety test. Officers may have, just as I would have, called someone to pick you up instead of writing you a ticket.

To answer your question, if your in your car (driver or passenger) driving/riding on a street or highway, then yes, you are in the "public".