Public Intoxication

Orange County public intoxication lawyer, William Weinberg is an experienced attorney who has successfully defended hundreds of clients, including those who have been charged with public intoxication. Mr. Weinberg is a zealous advocate for the clients that he represents and has a track record of proven results. Mr. Weinberg takes the time to individually review each potential client’s case to provide a plan that works best for their circumstances.

In California, charges of public intoxication should be taken seriously as these types of charges can seriously impact your life in the future. Although public intoxication is only a misdemeanor offense, punishments may include fines and jail time. If you are convicted of this crime, it may be hard for you to find work as potential employers will be able to conduct a background check and this will permanently stay on your criminal record. An experienced public intoxication attorney in Orange County can help fight these charges if you or someone you know has been arrested for public intoxication.

What is Public Intoxication?

In California, public intoxication (also referred to as disorderly conduct) is a crime under California Penal Code Section 647(f). If you are found in a public place to be under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, or controlled substance, in a condition where you are unable to exercise care for your own safety or the safety of others or if you interfere with or obstruct or prevent the free use of any street, sidewalk, or other public way, you can be arrested for public intoxication.

Examples of public intoxication include:

• A person who drinks too much and then harasses passengers on a train
• Refusing to leave a bar after being cut off from drinking
• Doing drugs or drinking so much alcohol that you pass out in the street so that cars are not able to safely maneuver around you

In order to convict someone of a public intoxication charge, the prosecution must prove:

1. The defendant was willfully intoxicated,
2. When the defendant was intoxicated, they were in a public place; and
3. The defendant was unable to care for themselves/others or the defendant was obstructing a public way.

This means that in California, it is not illegal to simply be drunk in public, in order to be arrested for public intoxication, you must also put the safety of yourself/others in jeopardy or you must be interfering with public property in some way.

If you are convicted of public intoxication under California Penal Code Section 647(f), you could face up to six months in jail, fines of up to $1,000, and probation. However, an experienced public intoxication attorney in Orange County can help you if you have been charged with this type of crime.

Orange County public intoxication lawyer William Weinberg is an experienced lawyer in Orange County who has many years of experience defending clients charged with public intoxication. He will consider your case free of charge and advise you of your options. To reach him please contact his Irvine office at 949-474-8008 or by emailing him at bill@williamweinberg.com.

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