public intoxication

Appeals Court says to prosecute public drunkenness, violates legislature’s decision to treat alcoholism and substance abuse as a disease, not a crime.

Appeals Court Decision: State of Arizona v. David Harold Cole

On Monday May 5, 2014 an Arizona Appeals Court ruled unanimously on State of Arizona v. David Harold Coles, deciding that being drunk in public was not a crime. The Arizona Court of Appeals Division One overturned a criminal conviction resulting from violation of a Scottsdale AZ municipal ordinance, making it a crime to be “incapacitated in public” due to alcohol.

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