Civil Citation for Open Container in Tampa

[chbe44]

My question involves court procedures for the state of: Florida
Hello,

I recieved a civil citation for an open container at a local event in Tampa, Fl. I am not a resident of Florida anymore so I tried to do my homework before I arrived. I check the event website and several local news articles online so that I could follow the law during the event.

All I could find on the event website was that I was not to bring coolers of beer to the event (which was permitted many years ago) and that they would like if we supported the local vendors and buy our beer there, which I did. I purchased my beverage and went on about my day passing many police officers until I came upon one who was apparently having a bad day. He wrote me a civil citation for the open container and informed me had I put the beer in a cup he would not have written me the ticket? After recieving the ticket, I asked several other police officers how this could have been avoided and what I should do going forward to make sure I was obeying the law. Each officer gave a different response (It seemed like no one was really sure what the law was that day.)

I have since been in contact with the City Civil Attorney who seems to more or less (without directly saying it) be advising me to just pay the ticket. The fine is only $75.00. This is not about the money and driving back to Tampa will cost way more than just paying the ticket. This is about the principle of the matter and the fact that I do not want this on my record. I did my duty in trying to be informed about the requirements before I arrived. I feel it is the city's responsibility to clearly outline the rules for out-of-towners.

If I go to court, is it likely I will lose anyway (And then be out court fees and time & travel)?

Thanks for any help!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Highly likely.