§ 647(f) PC – Public Intoxication – California Law & Penalties

California Penal Code § 647f PC sets forth the crime of public intoxication. Also called drunk in public, you commit this offense by being

1. under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
2. in a public place,
3. to the point of being unable to care for your safety or that of others.

A conviction is treated as a misdemeanor punishable by

• up to 6 months in jail and
• a fine of up to $1000.00.

This statute is one of several California laws on disorderly conduct.

The language of the code section states that:

647. Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (k), every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor:

(f) Who is found in any public place under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance, toluene, or any combination of any intoxicating liquor, drug, controlled substance, or toluene, in a condition that they are unable to exercise care for their own safety or the safety of others, or by reason of being under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, controlled substance, toluene, or any combination of any intoxicating liquor, drug, or toluene, interferes with or obstructs or prevents the free use of any street, sidewalk, or other public way.

Examples

• after a bartender cuts Ted off because he is intoxicated, Ted grabs a stool and throws it across the bar.
• while drunk, Jose lies down on a set of train tracks and fights off a passerby who tries to move him.
• Janelle, under the influence of cocaine, passes out on a sidewalk and thereby forces people walking by to step over her.

Defenses

Merely being arrested for public intoxication does not necessarily mean the state can prove the case. Common defenses include showing that you:

• were not in a public place,
• were involuntarily intoxicated, and/or
• were not creating an interference or obstruction.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will discuss the following in this article:

• 1. “Drunk in Public” Defined
• 2. Best Defenses
• 3. Penalties
• 4. Immigration Consequences
• 5. Criminal Record Expungement
• 6. Effect on Gun Rights
• 7. Other Consequences of a Conviction
• 8. Related Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. “Drunk in Public” Defined

Penal Code 647 f PC is the California statute that makes it a crime for you to be drunk in public.¹

A prosecutor must prove these three elements of the jury instructions to convict you of public intoxication in California:

• 1. you were willfully under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or under the influence of drugs or a controlled substance,
• 2. when you were under the influence, you were in a public place, and either
  • 3a. you were unable to exercise care for your own safety, or the safety of others, OR
  • 3b. because you were under the influence, you interfered with, obstructed, or prevented the free use of a street, sidewalk, or another public way.²

(Please also see our page on drinking in public in California).

This section is meant to protect:

• you from your own foolishness, and
• the public from the potential dangers associated with you.³

The question of whether you are “unable to exercise care for” your own safety, or the safety of others, is a question of fact. This means that a judge or jury will rule on the issue by looking at all the facts and circumstances within a given case.⁴

Questions often arise under this statute on:

• the meaning of “willful” intoxication, and
• the meaning of a “public place.”

Willfulness

For PC 647f matters, you commit an act “willfully” when you do it willingly or on purpose.⁵

This means that you must have voluntarily ingested drugs and/or alcohol. If you did so by accident, or by force, then you are not guilty of being drunk in public.

Drunk in “Public”

As used under this statute, a “public place” is a place that is open and accessible to anyone who wishes to go there.

Obvious examples include:

• a barber shop⁶,
• streets and sidewalks⁷, and
• public businesses or entertainment venues like restaurants, clubs, shopping malls, and parks.

In addition, California courts have ruled that the following less obvious places also qualify as “public places:”

• a car parked on a public street⁸,
• a common hallway in an apartment building⁹, and
• an area in front of someone’s house, including the driveway, front lawn, and front porch.¹⁰

2. Best Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with alcohol offenses such as public intoxication. In our experience, the following defenses have been very effective with prosecutors, judges and juries.

You Were Not in a Public Place

We have seen cases where overzealous police cited people for public drunkenness even though they were not “in public,” defined as a place open to strangers. For example, being intoxicated at a raucous house party is not being drunk in public.

As long as we can explain to the prosecutor that the police were wrong about you being in a public place, they may drop the charge.

You Were Involuntarily Intoxicated

If you accidentally ingested drugs or alcohol – or if someone drugged you without your knowledge – then you are not guilty of violating PC 647(f). We can usually show you were involuntarily intoxicated by finding such evidence as:

• eyewitnesses who saw someone spiking your drink,
• video of your drink being spiked, and/or
• forensic evidence of the intoxicating substances you unwittingly consumed

There Was No Interference or Obstruction

Depending on your case, a defense to public intoxication charges is that you never interfered with or obstructed the free use of a public street or sidewalk. For example, being drunk behind a dumpster in an alleyway does not violate PC 647(f) as long as you were able to exercise care for your own safety.

To show that you caused no interference or obstruction, we rely on such evidence as:

• video surveillance footage,
• eyewitness accounts, and/or
• your phone’s GPS data.

3. Penalties

A violation of 647f PC is charged as a misdemeanor under California state law.¹¹

The crime is punishable by:

• imprisonment in county jail for up to six months, and/or
• a maximum fine of $1,000.

Please note that in lieu of jail time, a judge may award you with misdemeanor (or summary probation). You may also be able to do community service in lieu of paying a fine.

The L.A. County D.A.’s office generally does not prosecute PC 647(f) cases.¹²

4. Immigration Consequences

A PC 647(f) conviction may have negative immigration consequences.

Note that under United States immigration law, certain criminal convictions in California can lead to a non-citizen being deported. Some convictions can also make an immigrant “inadmissible.”

The major categories of “deportable” or “inadmissible” crimes are:

• crimes of moral turpitude,
• aggravated felonies,
• controlled substances (drug) offenses,
• firearms offenses, and
• domestic violence crimes.¹³

Given the above categories, if you violated this statute because you were intoxicated via drug use or controlled substance, there may be grounds for deportation or inadmissibility. Note, though, that the facts of the case would probably have to suggest a flagrant violation of the law for these grounds to exist.

5. Criminal Record Expungement

If you are convicted under this section, you can try to get the offense expunged from your criminal record.

Under Penal Code 1203.4, an expungement releases you from virtually “all penalties and disabilities” arising from the conviction.¹⁴

One benefit is that an expunged conviction must not be disclosed to potential employers.

As a basic rule, PC 1203.4 authorizes an expungement for a misdemeanor or felony offense provided you:

1. successfully completed probation (either felony probation or misdemeanor probation), and
2. are not currently:

• charged with a criminal offense,
• on probation for a criminal offense, or
• serving a sentence for a criminal offense.¹⁵

This means that once you have successfully completed probation, or serving a jail term for the same, you may begin trying to get the crime expunged.

6. Effect on Gun Rights

A conviction for public intoxication does not affect your gun rights.

Note that some felony and misdemeanor convictions will result in losing your right to own a gun in California.

Also note that some misdemeanors carry a 10-year firearm ban.

But a conviction of violating PC 647(f) will not result in you losing ownership of your gun or being banned from the gun for a period of time.

7. Other Consequences of a Conviction

A public intoxication conviction can negatively affect your life despite it being only a misdemeanor. A conviction could cause:

• Getting fired from a job;
• Being passed over by potential employers for other jobs;
• Landlords rejecting your application to be a tenant;
• Getting rejected by colleges and universities;
• Being denied a professional license; and/or
• Losing out on scholarship opportunities.

Furthermore, having a public intoxication conviction carries a social stigma. It causes people to presume you may be an alcoholic or irresponsible. Therefore, if you are charged with being drunk in public, you are advised to fight the charge and get the matter expunged as soon as possible.

8. Related Offenses

There are three crimes related to being drunk. These are:

1. driving under the influence – VC 23152a,
2. disturbing the peace – PC 415, and
3. loitering to solicit the purchase of alcohol – PC 303a.

Driving Under the Influence – VC 23152a

Vehicle Code 23152(a) VC is the California DUI law that makes it a crime to operate a motor vehicle while “under the influence” of alcohol.¹⁶

“Under the influence” means that your physical or mental abilities are impaired to the extent that you can no longer drive as well as a cautious sober person.¹⁷

You can be prosecuted under this statute in California even if your blood alcohol concentration is below 0.08%.

A first, second or third offense under VC 23152a is charged as misdemeanors in California. Penalties for a DUI conviction may include:

• misdemeanor probation,
• fines,
• DUI school, and
• a driver’s license suspension (though it may be possible to continue driving if you install an ignition interlock device (IID) in your car).

Disturbing the Peace – PC 415

Penal Code 415 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to “disturb the peace.” Disturb the peace means to either:

• fight, or challenge someone to a fight in a non-private place
• purposefully disturb another person with loud and unreasonable noise, and
• use offensive words that are likely to provoke a violent reaction.¹⁸

A violation of PC 415 is charged as a misdemeanor. The offense is punishable by:

• imprisonment in the county jail for up to 90 ninety days, and/or
• a maximum fine of up to $400.¹⁹

Please note that a prosecutor can charge this crime as “disturbing the peace” no matter the specific facts making up the crime.²⁰

Loitering to Solicit the Purchase of Alcohol – PC 303a

Penal Code 303a PC makes it a crime to loiter in or around a bar or restaurant to ask other patrons or customers to buy drinks for you.²¹

“Loitering” is defined as remaining in a certain place even though you have no lawful reason to be there.

A violation of PC 303a is charged as a misdemeanor in California.²²

The potential penalties include:

• up to six months in county jail, and/or
• a fine of up to $1,000.²³

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• The Public Inebriate and the Police in California: The Perils of Piece-Meal Reform – Golden Gate University Law Review.
• Arrests for Public Intoxication – Fordham Law Review.
• Criminal Responsibility and the Right to Treatment for Intoxication and Alcoholism – Georgetown Law Journal.
• Prohibiting public drinking in urban public spaces: A review of the evidence – Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy.
• Public drinking, problems and prevention measures in twelve countries: results of the WHO project on public drinking – Contemporary Drug Problems.

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