Public Intoxication in Georgia

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bilbobaggins88
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Public Intoxication in Georgia

#1

Post by bilbobaggins88 »

Hi, I have a public intoxication arrest from the state of Georgia. In Georgia, there is no such thing as a Class C misdemeanor, so it's a class B misdemeanor according to Georgia. In Texas, the same charge is a class C, so would this make me ineligible for a LTC in Texas?

montgomery
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

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Post by montgomery »

Welcome!!
Last edited by montgomery on Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:09 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Keith B
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#3

Post by Keith B »

bilbobaggins88 wrote:Hi, I have a public intoxication arrest from the state of Georgia. In Georgia, there is no such thing as a Class C misdemeanor, so it's a class B misdemeanor according to Georgia. In Texas, the same charge is a class C, so would this make me ineligible for a LTC in Texas?
Welcome to the forum.

Misdemeanor charges from another state are handled as Class A in Texas for eligibility, so yes, you would be ineligible for 5 years from your date of disposition on the conviction.
Keith
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#4

Post by bilbobaggins88 »

Keith B wrote:Misdemeanor charges from another state are handled as Class A in Texas for eligibility, so yes, you would be ineligible for 5 years from your date of disposition on the conviction.
Thanks for responding


Is there any reason for this? It seems a bit weird to just classify all out of state misdemeanors as class A rather than looking at what the charge actually is.
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Keith B
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#5

Post by Keith B »

bilbobaggins88 wrote:
Keith B wrote:Misdemeanor charges from another state are handled as Class A in Texas for eligibility, so yes, you would be ineligible for 5 years from your date of disposition on the conviction.
Thanks for responding


Is there any reason for this? It seems a bit weird to just classify all out of state misdemeanors as class A rather than looking at what the charge actually is.
It's under the government code for eligibility.
GC §411.172. ELIGIBILITY.
(a) A person is eligible for a license to carry a handgun if the person:
..............................
(8) has not, in the five years preceding the date of application, been convicted
of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense or of an offense
under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense;
.........................................................
(b) For the purposes of this section, an offense under the laws of this state,
another state, or the United States is:

(1) except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a felony if the offense, at the time
the offense is committed:
(A) is designated by a law of this state as a felony;
(B) contains all the elements of an offense designated by a law of this state
as a felony; or
(C) is punishable by confinement for one year or more in a penitentiary;
and
(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is not a felony and confinement in a
jail other than a state jail felony facility is affixed as a possible punishment.

(b-1) An offense is not considered a felony for purposes of Subsection (b) if, at
the time of a person’s application for a license to carry a handgun, the offense:
(1) is not designated by a law of this state as a felony; and
(2) does not contain all the elements of any offense designated by a law of this
state as a felony.
Public drunkenness is a misdemeanor in Georgia. Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
Keith
Texas LTC Instructor, Missouri CCW Instructor, NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun Instructor and RSO, NRA Life Member

Psalm 82:3-4

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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#6

Post by bilbobaggins88 »

Keith B wrote:Public drunkenness is a misdemeanor in Georgia. Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

I'm doing some research and I'm pretty sure I was only charged under a city ordinance violation, not a state misdemeanor. I'm in the process of getting to records from the city but if it was only a city ordinance violation I think I should be ok. Hopefully that and they see that I'm a honorably discharged veteran and I think I could be fine. Unless they consider any out of state ordinance violation as a class A misdemeanor, in which case out of state speeding tickets would also be disqualifying.
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#7

Post by Keith B »

bilbobaggins88 wrote:
Keith B wrote:Public drunkenness is a misdemeanor in Georgia. Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

I'm doing some research and I'm pretty sure I was only charged under a city ordinance violation, not a state misdemeanor. I'm in the process of getting to records from the city but if it was only a city ordinance violation I think I should be ok. Hopefully that and they see that I'm a honorably discharged veteran and I think I could be fine. Unless they consider any out of state ordinance violation as a class A misdemeanor, in which case out of state speeding tickets would also be disqualifying.
It will depend on the disposition. If it was a Class B, then I would assume it would have to be a state penalty. How long ago was it?
Keith
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#8

Post by bilbobaggins88 »

Keith B wrote:It will depend on the disposition. If it was a Class B, then I would assume it would have to be a state penalty. How long ago was it?
It was about two years ago. I remember them telling me it was basically like a ticket, and then I just paid on their county website and that was it. I always assumed it was a class B because that's the state penalty, but I was reading today about how sometimes charges like this are only charged as violating city ordinances which do not count as misdemeanors, even if it was a crime that was possible to be charged as a misdemeanor. I looked into the city ordinance code and they do have a city ordinance for public drunkenness. I did a public records request so we'll see what it is I guess when that comes.
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#9

Post by Keith B »

bilbobaggins88 wrote:
Keith B wrote:It will depend on the disposition. If it was a Class B, then I would assume it would have to be a state penalty. How long ago was it?
It was about two years ago. I remember them telling me it was basically like a ticket, and then I just paid on their county website and that was it. I always assumed it was a class B because that's the state penalty, but I was reading today about how sometimes charges like this are only charged as violating city ordinances which do not count as misdemeanors, even if it was a crime that was possible to be charged as a misdemeanor. I looked into the city ordinance code and they do have a city ordinance for public drunkenness. I did a public records request so we'll see what it is I guess when that comes.
I am not a lawyer, but looking at Georgia statutes appear to say that the charge is a state misdemeanor. However, many towns do things like this to raise revenue and it never gets turned over to the state and go through the courts. Hopefully the latter is the case.

Let us know what you find out. :thumbs2:
Keith
Texas LTC Instructor, Missouri CCW Instructor, NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun Instructor and RSO, NRA Life Member

Psalm 82:3-4

infoman
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#10

Post by infoman »

You’ll get denied if you apply now. Also, being honorably discharged veteran has nothing to do with eligibility regarding this.
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#11

Post by ScottDLS »

infoman wrote:You’ll get denied if you apply now. Also, being honorably discharged veteran has nothing to do with eligibility regarding this.
Not if the city ordinance is not considered a misdemeanor. It doesn’t matter what the State charge is if he was charged under the city ordinance which may be a civil offense or an infraction. And the discharge gets him a fee discount if not a break on eligibility. :rules:
4/13/1996 Completed CHL Class, 4/16/1996 Fingerprints, Affidavits, and Application Mailed, 10/4/1996 Received CHL, renewed 1998, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2016...). "ATF... Uhhh...heh...heh....Alcohol, tobacco, and GUNS!! Cool!!!!"
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WildBill
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

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Post by WildBill »

ScottDLS wrote:
infoman wrote:You’ll get denied if you apply now. Also, being honorably discharged veteran has nothing to do with eligibility regarding this.
Not if the city ordinance is not considered a misdemeanor. It doesn’t matter what the State charge is if he was charged under the city ordinance which may be a civil offense or an infraction. And the discharge gets him a fee discount if not a break on eligibility. :rules:
:thumbs2: IANAL, but I found this ...
Further, a county or municipal ordinance violation cannot be a state law offense and cannot be designated as a misdemeanor
based upon state law criteria, because county and municipal ordinance violations are not described as a crime under Title 16 of the
Official Code of Georgia.  OCGA § 16-1-4.  
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of ... 34497.html
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bilbobaggins88
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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#13

Post by bilbobaggins88 »

WildBill wrote:
ScottDLS wrote:
infoman wrote:You’ll get denied if you apply now. Also, being honorably discharged veteran has nothing to do with eligibility regarding this.
Not if the city ordinance is not considered a misdemeanor. It doesn’t matter what the State charge is if he was charged under the city ordinance which may be a civil offense or an infraction. And the discharge gets him a fee discount if not a break on eligibility. :rules:
:thumbs2: IANAL, but I found this ...
Further, a county or municipal ordinance violation cannot be a state law offense and cannot be designated as a misdemeanor
based upon state law criteria, because county and municipal ordinance violations are not described as a crime under Title 16 of the
Official Code of Georgia.  OCGA § 16-1-4.  
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of ... 34497.html
That makes me feel a lot better. I'm still waiting on the documents from the city but I'm about 95% sure I was charged under a county or municipal violation.

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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#14

Post by BBYC »

A general rule of thumb is look at the possible penalties. If it's only a fine, then no problem. If jail time is a possibility, then it's a minimum five year wait. If prison or jail time for a year or more is a possible punishment, then it's a ten year wait if you got deferred adjudication, or permanent ban unless you're pardoned, etc.

There are some exceptions like domestic violence, but it's a good rule of thumb.
God, grant me serenity to accept the things I can't change
Courage to change the things I can
And the firepower to make a difference.

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Re: Public Intoxication in Georgia

#15

Post by bilbobaggins88 »

So I got the paperwork from the city, and it was a city ordinance violation. The only paperwork thy had on it was the handwritten traffic citation paper that the officer wrote and the receipt showing I paid the fine a few days later. Hopefully this means I'm good to go.
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