Public Intoxication Lawyer

Public Intoxication

There is nothing illegal in Virginia about having a good time that includes a few beers or a couple of glasses of wine, but when your personal party strays into public view, it can become a crime. Virginia law makes being drunk in public a misdemeanor offense with a fine of up to $250.

If you’ve had previous drug or alcohol convictions, fines can be higher.

It may be tempting just to pay the fine since there’s typically no jail time attached, but Virginia considers payment of the fine an admission of guilt. An experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to help you avoid that.

Public Intoxication lawyer

Public Intoxication Defined

Intoxication or drunkenness is defined in Virginia Code §4.1-100 as a condition in which someone has consumed enough alcoholic drinks to observably affect his or her manner, disposition, speech, muscular movement, general appearance, or behavior.

However, Virginia Code § 18.2-388 doesn’t limit intoxication to alcohol use but also includes within its definition the use of drugs or other intoxicants.

When someone shows signs of being intoxicated in a public place, they can be charged with a misdemeanor, and you don’t have to be stumbling down the street to be in public. Virginia Code §4.1-100 defines a public place as any place, building, or conveyance where the public has or is permitted access. Public places include:

  • Restaurants
  • Hotel lobbies, corridors, or dining rooms
  • Parks
  • Highways, streets, or sidewalks

The law excludes from the list of public places rooms in restaurants, hotels, offices, or industrial buildings where private meetings or parties are being held and private or chartered boats where alcoholic beverages aren’t being sold. However, boating under the influence prohibitions apply to the boat’s owner.

Option for Detoxification
When charged with public intoxication, Virginia Code §18.2-388 says the arresting officer may choose to take you to a court-approved detoxification center or jail instead of arresting you. You cannot be detained in such a center involuntarily, although they can hold you until you are sober.

Local laws:

Drunk in Public Ordinances: Fairfax County, City of Alexandria, County of Arlington,

Fairfax County 5-1-1

City of Alexandria: 13-1-5

County of Arlington: 17-7

Other Laws:

§ 18.2-387.1. Obscene sexual display; penalty

Any person who, while in any public place where others are present, intends to be seen by others intentionally and obscenely, as defined in § 18.2-372, engages in actual or explicitly simulated acts of masturbation, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§ 18.2-387. Indecent exposure.

Every person who intentionally makes an obscene display or exposure of his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where others are present, or procures another to expose himself so, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. No person shall be deemed to violate this section for breastfeeding a child in any public place or any place where others are present.

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