TexasCHLforum.com

Redneck_Buddha wrote:<rant>Probably already been covered here, but any stop that results in suspicion of DUI means that every word exchanged with the officer is evidence gathered, or attempting to be gathered. Once you realize this, one may be compelled to deny, deny, deny. If you are not intoxicated and you know a sobriety test would certainly clear you, you have had NOTHING to drink on that day. I hate advocating dishonestly, but DUI stops are a dishonest exercise designed to create more criminals and more revenue, and many people have this slapped on their records that are in no way deserving. </rant>

tbrown wrote:

Keith B wrote:Easy enough to put it behind the seat if you are in a truck or in the trunk in a car. And using the term 'container' to include the six-pack cardboard is a stretch IMO. Besides, they sell single cans in convenience stores. If cops were really out looking to bust people for that, they would just sit outside a store and watch for people with 40oz'ers coming out the door and getting in their car.

Back on page 3, a member claiming to be a LEO said, "I personally have a conviction on an open container enhancement with a DWI with an open 30 pack with cans missing and no open cans in the car."

Now that you quote the law, I wonder if he was really a LEO.

Heartland Patriot wrote:Well, let me unbury this thread. I went looking around on the internet for a definition of "open container" in the State of Texas, to see if it includes a 6-pack with one or two missing. Lo and behold, I come across the good old TexasCHLForum...I should have known.

Anyway, as some may know, I work down in Lake Charles right now and go home when I can for a few days here and there. Now is one of those times. I drink beer, but not like I used to when I was a younger man. I have a 6-pack in the fridge at the moment, and being a night-shift person, would like to have a beer in my own home out of that 6-pack. However, after reading this entire thread, I am now "paranoid" that one of AFCOP's LEO counterparts might decide to stop me, for whatever reason, when I head back to Lake Charles with the remaining 5 or 4 beers out of that 6-pack, find them in a cooler inside my Access-cab Tacoma pickup truck, and because he interprets that statute similarly, but even more strictly than AFCOP, cite me for "open container" even though I do NOT drive under the influence. I have NEVER been arrested for anything, and have only ever even had one speeding ticket, outside Sherman in 1993. Yeah, I know its a pretty far-fetched scenario, but isn't that what we do on this forum? Try to figure things out BEFORE they happen, so we can be prepared for them?

I'm curious as to whether there was ever an AG opinion issued for this topic, BTW. Also, if I threw away the cardboard that the beers came in, and just had the UNOPENED 4 or 5 cans in the cooler, is THAT an "open container"? Besides, I'm not just thinking about me, here, but about countless folks who take beers with them in an ice chest/cooler on an outing such as a fishing trip. What if they only took 23 out of 24 cans? Or 11 out of 12? This could impact THOUSANDS of people in our state...think about it.

§ 49.031. Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle.

(a) In this section:

(1) "Open container" means a bottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount of alcoholic beverage and that is open, that has been opened, that has a broken seal, or the contents of which are partially removed.

(2) "Passenger area of a motor vehicle" means the area of a motor vehicle designed for the seating of the operator and passengers of the vehicle. The term does not include:

(A) a glove compartment or similar storage container that is locked;

(B) the trunk of a vehicle; or

(C) the area behind the last upright seat of the vehicle, if the vehicle does not have a trunk.

AFCop wrote:....if there is an opinion/case law that defines what an "other receptacle" is, I will honor that and I will come back here and commit to that to the several of you!

stash wrote:I don't know how true this is but I remember reading 10 or so years ago that a slice of bread contains more alcohol than a non-alcoholic beer. It could have been an advertisement for a non-alcoholic beer (don't remember) for all I know but I do remember reading it.

VoiceofReason wrote:Something else stood out to me.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses an open container in a passenger area of a motor vehicle that is located on a public highway, regardless of whether the vehicle is being operated or is stopped or parked. Possession by a person of one or more open containers in a single criminal episode is a single offense.

If the can was dry, (bone dry), seems to me he would have had a problem proving you knew it was behind the seat.

Beiruty wrote: At one time, I had carried and an consumed non-Alcholic (0.0%) Malt drink in my Vehicle. The container, looks like a beer bottle. Would I get in trouble if sighted and pulled over by cop? Maybe I will be cited for wasting their time

CheckonChico wrote: Interesting point especially when you take into account what happened afterwards. He searched the truck and lo and behold...he found an empty beer can behind one of the seats. long story short I got cited for open container and speeding . .......

§ 49.031. Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle.

(a) In this section:

(1) "Open container" means a bottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount of alcoholic beverage and that is open, that has been opened, that has a broken seal, or the contents of which are partially removed.

(2) "Passenger area of a motor vehicle" means the area of a motor vehicle designed for the seating of the operator and passengers of the vehicle. The term does not include:

(A) a glove compartment or similar storage container that is locked;

(B) the trunk of a vehicle; or

(C) the area behind the last upright seat of the vehicle, if the vehicle does not have a trunk.

(3) "Public highway" means the entire width between and immediately adjacent to the boundary lines of any public road, street, highway, interstate, or other publicly maintained way if any part is open for public use for the purpose of motor vehicle travel. The term includes the right-of-way of a public highway.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses an open container in a passenger area of a motor vehicle that is located on a public highway, regardless of whether the vehicle is being operated or is stopped or parked. Possession by a person of one or more open containers in a single criminal episode is a single offense.

(c) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b) that at the time of the offense the defendant was a passenger in:

(1) the passenger area of a motor vehicle designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation, including a bus, taxicab, or limousine; or

(2) the living quarters of a motorized house coach or motorized house trailer, including a self-contained camper, a motor home, or a recreational vehicle.

(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

(e) A peace officer charging a person with an offense under this section, instead of taking the person before a magistrate, shall issue to the person a written citation and notice to appear that contains the time and place the person must appear before a magistrate, the name and address of the person charged, and the offense charged. If the person makes a written promise to appear before the magistrate by signing in duplicate the citation and notice to appear issued by the officer, the officer shall release the person.