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...thanks...that'll be all I ever hope to need...

...so, like other laws, if all of the elements aren't all present...you haven't committed Public Intoxication, and won't be charged with it...separately, they don't equal the whole...that makes perfect sense...that's what we said earlier, and the law as written backs it up...

...we didn't do any paperwork on a catch and release either, but the City Attorney was lobbying the Chief for it...said it could bite us later, if they got a hungry lawyer...we didn't want any more paperwork, of course...

...yup, Chapter 14....question on that...since you hold them temporarily, (say on scene) then release them to a responsible party, do you write a report of what happened and who you released them to to relieve you and your dept.of civil liability?

...thanks for the info on the punishment...is there a chart or table listing the range of possible fines and jail sentences each offense in Texas law can draw, or is that the judges have?

...now I have an opinion...totally separate from the law...I took/sent home dozens of folks at all hours of the night who had been on foot or in a bar or restaurant to keep from charging them with even the "simple drunk" charge...I don't feel that just being a little loud or giddy is a sign of a rotten character...nor should it cost someone money...I would like to see such a "simple drunk" charge here for those that cross that level...and I would also like to have a stiffer charge for those who're fighting or won't settle/quiet down and leave...we charged them with "drunk and disorderly" if I remember rightly after 40 years...may have been disturbing the peace on top of simple drunk...but we didn't have to use that, with its heavier fines and implications nearly as often...to me, it was more common-sense and serving the public when they needed a little help getting home...instead of "gotcha!!!"
...seems to me that a lot of the personal decisions and ability to help a citizen who's just a bit out of line have been removed...maybe due to hungry lawyers...or ungrateful patrons...

...having been there and done that, I know that there are OFTEN bad judgements made and the law is often used to settle another problem...wrongly...I policed in a place that had a very light "get 'em off the street" charge called simple drunk...bond was $30...fine was, too...if they were impaired and a nuisance...off they went...
...Texas, however, does not at the state level have such a light charge...if one is charged with PI, they are charged with the law as written and it can't be picked apart...PC49.02 says what it says...and it states that it wasn't "...merely being drunk in public...", it includes the part about being a danger to one's self or another...which is what bayouhazard posted...
...I replied that there was no difference in the two phrases...they were one and the same making up the law AS IT IS WRITTEN...another member decided that the law disagreed with me, and off we went...the truth is that in order to be charged, you have to be charged with 49.02, and you don't get to pick which element applies...if you are 1) in a public place 2)intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another...you have a charge...if either element is missing...there is no charge...the law is clear and doesn't belie what bayouhazard or I said...my whole point of argument is that if you tell me I'm wrong and that the law tells me something different...show me in the law...not opinion..law expresses LAW...not what we wish it said...and throwing in another charge concerning driving while intoxicated had nothing to do with the discussion or what either of us posted...

...the written law SETTLES the argument...even though we agree it's, like a lot of Texas law, not written as we would like...

...not one word that I posted here was addressed to nor had any reference to you, Sir...I was making a point of law following another member's post, and someone decided to take issue with the law...and/or me...

...in Texas, they are one and the same... http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/d ... /PE.49.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


and we've come full circle...and the law hasn't changed a bit...

...if you'll go back and read bayouhazard's post, you'll see that he said:
"PI is not merely being drunk in public. The law says they're also a danger to themself or others."

...that is what I answered...quoting the law that states both elements are part of the same charge...no difference...
...at no time did he or I address driving anything...it has nothing to do with what he or I were talking about...we were talking about the significance of being charged with PI...the law that I quoted says nothing to conflict with what I stated...

"Yes. And the law requires all parts of the offense. Like drunk driving.

Sec. 49.02. PUBLIC INTOXICATION. (a) A person commits an offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another"

...if the person isn't intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another, there IS NO CHARGE...if we break it up , we change what the law says...if he doesn't 1) appear in a public place 2)while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another......he hasn't broken any law... there are no different levels of intoxication within the charge...he either is or is not in public and intoxicated to the degree that he may endanger the person or another...

...my definition of "while" is of no consequence...

...the LAW makes no difference...that was what I posted..the LAW in Texas doesn't separate between being drunk in public and being a danger to onself or others...they are one and the same...my posts stands as correct...

...Texas law, which I quoted, makes no charge for merely being drunk in public that is different from public intoxication...the law says that if you are drunk and in public, you are assumed to be a danger to yourself or others...and the charge is public intoxication...we're not talking about "operating a vehicle in a public place"...please show me in the law where there is made a difference between "being intoxicated in a public place" and "intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another"....they are, in the law, a part of the same charge...not separate...


Sec. 49.02. PUBLIC INTOXICATION. (a) A person commits an offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another.

...please tell me the difference...the law gives one charge for being drunk in public...public intoxication...

...some states have a very weak charge called drunk in public...the law I quoted doesn't...

...in Texas, they are one and the same... http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/d ... /PE.49.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;