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California DUI and ?Drunk in Public?: Different Standards of Intoxication

By Neil Shouse, Esq.

DUI and ?drunk in public? are misdemeanor crimes in California designed to protect the suspect and the public from a suspect?s dangerous, substance-induced behavior. Both laws criminalize a suspect?s being intoxicated in certain settings. But the level of intoxication that must exist for each crime to take place differs significantly. In short, DUI requires that the suspect?s mental and physical faculties be impaired?at least to the extent that he can no longer operate a motor vehicle with the same skill and caution of a sober person. Whereas Penal Code 647f Drunk in Public requires that the suspect be extremely intoxicated?so much so that he can no longer safely care for himself or others, even while just walking around. The DUI standard of intoxication remains somewhat nebulous and the subject of much debate?both scientific and political...continue to full post

Full post as published by DUI Blogger on May 21, 2009 (boomark / email).