Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication open container on sidewalk

[slw05g]

date: jan 30 2010

i have no prior record except speeding ticket.

i was in tampa florida for the gasparilla pirate parade and received a written arrest for allegedly carrying an open container of a 12 oz bud light can on the sidewalk (about 400 other people received the same arrest that day) they had in acted county ordinance statute 3 40 because of all the complaints received from the neighborhoods about disorderly drunks. the cop informed me he wasn't happy about all of this because it was causing unnecessary work for them and that i shouldn't plead out and the charge should get dismissed. my court date is next week feb 18th. i have a few questions: first off, should i take his advice and plead not guilty? if so what should i expect to happen? also, ive read on a couple of sites that this charge is considered an infraction and shouldnt appear on a state criminal background check, is this true? i dont mind paying the fine, im just concerned about anything appearing on my STATE criminal background check (even if the charge is dismissed) because if it does i wont be able to receive my visa to teach over seas in south korea.

 

[maltease]

Does open container arrest show up on my criminal record

date: jan 30 2010

i have no prior record except speeding ticket.

i was in tampa florida for the gasparilla pirate parade and received a written arrest for allegedly carrying an open container of a 12 oz bud light can on the sidewalk (about 400 other people received the same arrest that day) they had in acted county ordinance statute 3 40 because of all the complaints received from the neighborhoods about disorderly drunks. the cop informed me he wasn't happy about all of this because it was causing unnecessary work for them and that i shouldn't plead out and the charge should get dismissed. my court date is next week feb 18th. i have a few questions: first off, should i take his advice and plead not guilty? if so what should i expect to happen? also, ive read on a couple of sites that this charge is considered an infraction and shouldnt appear on a state criminal background check, is this true? i dont mind paying the fine, im just concerned about anything appearing on my STATE criminal background check (even if the charge is dismissed) because if it does i wont be able to receive my visa to teach over seas in south korea.

If you plead guilty, then you would have a conviction on your record. You would only do that if the prosecutor cut you a deal, which he did not. So pleading not guilty is one way to go, and you can dispute what type of container you had, what was in it, and maybe you did not have a container at all but it was someone else in the crowd that was confused with you. Then the cop would have to appear in court as a witness, and clearly he did not want to do that for all the open container citations made during the parade. Be sure to read the written arrest for court appearance instructions. You can read Florida code 3.4 regarding open container here http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientID=10132&stateID=9&statename=Florida
However, if you were arrested or convicted, the information is public information and a several background search services collect that information, put it in their database, and sell as a background check. You can check on your Florida criminal record at Florida state web site https://www2.fdle.state.fl.us/cchinet/.