Goleta Criminal Defense Attorney-
Public Intoxication – Sanford Horowitz Criminal Defense, P.C.

CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE 647(F): PUBLIC INTOXICATION DEFENSE ATTORNEY
In order to convict you of public intoxication, the prosecution must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- You were under the influence of alcohol, any drug and/or an inhalant, and
- You were in a public place, and
- You were unable to exercise care for your safety or for the safety of someone else, or
- You interfered with, obstructed or prevented the free use of any street, sidewalk, or other public way.
If you have been arrested for being intoxicated in public, it does not mean that you are guilty. It’s important to vigorously fight a public intoxication charge because a criminal conviction will stay on your record and can adversely affect job and educational opportunities down the road.
A former Prosecutor for the District Attorney’s Offices in Santa Barbara and San Diego Counties, Sanford Horowitz and his legal team will offer you a free consultation, investigate the evidence against you, and recommend practical steps to achieve the best possible results in your case
THE ACT OF PUBLIC INTOXICATION
- After a bartender cuts Will off because he is intoxicated, Will grabs a stool and throws it across the bar.
- While drunk, Miles lies down on a set of train tracks and fights off a passerby that tries to move him.
- Linda, under the influence of cocaine, passes out on a sidewalk and thereby forces people walking by to step over her.
If you are under age 21, and you are convicted for public intoxication, you can also lose your driver’s license for one year (California Vehicle Code Section 13202.52). If you do not have a driver’s license, the court will order the Department of Motor Vehicles to delay issuing you a driver’s license for one year subsequent to the time you become legally eligible to drive.
A public intoxication conviction may have negative immigration consequences. Under the United States immigration law, certain kinds of criminal convictions in Goleta 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 substance (drug) offenses,
- firearm offenses, and
- domestic violence crimes
If a defendant violated this statute because he was intoxicated via drug use or by using a controlled substance, then there may be grounds for deportation or inadmissibility.
If you willfully resist, delay, or obstruct a public officer, in the discharge or attempt to discharge any duty of the officer, you are guilty of resisting arrest PC 148(a)(1). The crime of resisting, obstructing, or delaying an officer is charged as a misdemeanor. If found guilty, you may be punished by up to one year in jail.
Fighting a public intoxication charge
Three common defenses to this crime are to show that you were:
- not in a public place,
- involuntarily intoxicated, and/or
- there was no interference or obstruction.
NOT IN A PUBLIC PLACE
INVOLUNTARILY INTOXICATED
LACK OF PROBABLE CAUSE

PUBLIC INTOXICATION EXPOSURE FAQ’S
WILL I BE PROSECUTED IF I AM DRUNK IN PUBLIC?
CAN I RECEIVE A DRUNK IN PUBLIC CHARGE IF I AM IN A PARKED CAR?
CAN A PERSON GET AN EXPUNGEMENT AFTER A PENAL CODE 647F CONVICTION?
A benefit of this is that an expunged conviction does not need to be disclosed to potential employers.
As a basic rule, PC 1203.4 authorizes an expungement for a misdemeanor or felony offense provided that the applicant successfully completed probation (either felony probation or misdemeanor probation), and is not currently:
- charged with a criminal offense,
- on probation for a criminal offense, or
- serving a sentence for a criminal offense.
This means that once you successfully complete probation or serving a jail term, you may begin trying to get the crime expunged.