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Public Intox - No FSBT, No Miranda

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  • 11-02-2009, 10:43 AM
    Robertstapp85
    Public Intox - No FSBT, No Miranda
    This is for TN.

    My sister was arrested last night for public intoxication. From her side of the story she was walking home from the bar and went into a gas station to buy a lighter for cigarettes. When she exited the store a cop was coming in and smelled alcohol on her and started to ask questions. They only made the comments of you smell like alcohol and no field sobriety test was done and no blood test. Apparently she was never read her miranda rights upon being arrested either. This info could be useless and/or irrelevant and that's fine just putting it all out there. When I talked to her on the phone she did admit to drinking that night but she said she was sober enough to walk and talk straight. I didn't hear any slurring either. I am waiting to get a copy of the police report to verify stories. If it does come back and there was no FSBT and the only reason for arrest was bc she smelt of alcohol is that a strong case against her? I mean just because you smell of alcohol does not mean that your drunk and if you dont do a test to see how impaired someone is how can you say whether they were to drunk to walk home?
  • 11-02-2009, 11:02 AM
    cdwjava
    Re: Public Intox - No FSBT, No Miranda
    If she has to go to trial she can argue that she was not drunk enoughto go to jail. Since we do not know what section she was charged under, it is hard to look up the elements of a crime that are unknown so we cannot say whether or not stumbling is a requirement for the crime.

    Sobriety tests and chemical tests are generally NOT required for an arrest for public intoxication. Likewise, Miranda is generally not required. In fact, some nine out of ten arrests will never require Miranda rights. Why? Because Miranda applies only after an arrest and when being interrogated. If she was not read her rights than any statements she made in response to the officer's queries can be suppressed at trial.

    She should speak to an attorney.

    - Carl
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