Woman Arrested 396 Times

[RicardoZ]

Talk about a revolving door...This woman in Chicago has been arrested almost 400 times:

http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/ch...ocid=ansnews11

Apparently she's been ordered into mental health treatment. Sounds like she could use it.

[Deleted]

"She also pleaded guilty to trespassing and public drinking in separate cases."
Public drinking... seriously, that's a crime ?

[Templar 331]

I'm thinking alcohol isn't the only thing in this equation.

[Deleted]

I'm thinking alcohol isn't the only thing in this equation.

Yeah, I know, I just don't understand why drinking alcohol in public is bad.

[Windfury]

I'm thinking alcohol isn't the only thing in this equation.

Yes, she's also homeless.

These type of public order offenses have a reputation for being used to 'manage' homeless and otherwise poor people (i.e. those with nowhere else to go). Back when I used to work in law we'd frequently see Aboriginal clients who had dozens of these type of offenses, which then of course made them more likely to do time if anything else happened.

[Afrospinach]

"She also pleaded guilty to trespassing and public drinking in separate cases."
Public drinking... seriously, that's a crime ?

In some city centres they have alcohol bans except within registered premises like clubs and pubs.

Yeah, I know, I just don't understand why drinking alcohol in public is bad.

Broken bottles on the street, general disorder. It is pretty much inevitable.

[Deleted]

Broken bottles on the street, general disorder. It is pretty much inevitable.

But that's covered by other laws.

[Afrospinach]

But that's covered by other laws.

Should be noted that these laws I am talking about are city council laws and are not ubiquitous. It is just how they decide to address the issue

[Xothic]

But that's covered by other laws.

It's a preventative law. It exists to prevent those things from happening. Keep in mind this only applies to drinks that are open, you can happily carry around a bottle of beer provided its sealed.

[Deleted]

It's a preventative law. It exists to prevent those things from happening. Keep in mind this only applies to drinks that are open, you can happily carry around a bottle of beer provided its sealed.

Kinda stupid.

[Xothic]

Kinda stupid.

I disagree, it is good law. Police here rarely fine you if they catch you with an open bottle unless you have a minor with you, usually they just make you empty out the drink unless you are acting like an idiot. The purpose of the law is to help minimize the resulting unpleasantries that arise from public intoxication, and I believe it functions well in that respect.

[Deleted]

I disagree, it is good law. Police here rarely fine you if they catch you with an open bottle unless you have a minor with you, usually they just make you empty out the drink unless you are acting like an idiot. The purpose of the law is to help minimize the resulting unpleasantries that arise from public intoxication, and I believe it functions well in that respect.

Well, drinking a can of beer in public is illegal (if I understand it correctly), yet not enough (for most people) to get drunk, so this law doesn't make sense. The fact that it's rarely enforced doesn't take away from it's stupidity.

[Itisamuh]

Yeah, I know, I just don't understand why drinking alcohol in public is bad.

Because people are dumb/annoying/violent/etc enough already. The last thing we need are people at their worst walking around freely.

[Xothic]

Well, drinking a can of beer in public is illegal (if I understand it correctly), yet not enough (for most people) to get drunk, so this law doesn't make sense. The fact that it's rarely enforced doesn't take away from it's stupidity.

I didn't say its rarely enforced, in fact it is the opposite; police hound you if they catch you with an open drink, its just that it is up to their discretion if they want to fine you or not. Further, if a person sits on a bench somewhere steadily drinking beer, even if it is just in cans, they will get drunk. That is the behavior the legislation exists to prevent.

[Deleted]

I didn't say its rarely enforced, in fact it is the opposite; police hound you if they catch you with an open drink, its just that it is up to their discretion if they want to fine you or not. Further, if a person sits on a bench somewhere steadily drinking beer, even if it is just in cans, they will get drunk. That is the behavior the legislation exists to prevent.

I'm not talking about a guy drinking his brains out sitting on a bench, I'm talking about someone buying a can of beer and drinking it on the way home. Why do laws always try to prevent bad behaviours that MIGHT occur during certain activities by banning said activities when the bad behaviours are already illegal ? Plus, if someone's an asshole enough to do that shit (noise in the middle of the night, breaking stuff, etc), do you really think a law preventing drinking in public is going to stop them ? It's like chopping one's toes off to prevent breaking them.

[oxymoronic]

Yeah, I know, I just don't understand why drinking alcohol in public is bad.

You rarely get in trouble for an open container in public ( which basically means drinking in the streets not at an establishment). 99% of the time they were making a scene and police were called and this happens to be the official charge.

---------- Post added 2013-06-11 at 11:44 PM ----------

I'm not talking about a guy drinking his brains out sitting on a bench, I'm talking about someone buying a can of beer and drinking it on the way home. Why do laws always try to prevent bad behaviours that MIGHT occur during certain activities by banning said activities when the bad behaviours are already illegal ? Plus, if someone's an asshole enough to do that shit (noise in the middle of the night, breaking stuff, etc), do you really think a law preventing drinking in public is going to stop them ? It's like chopping one's toes off to prevent breaking them.

Your arguments seem inexperienced and young. If you really can't wait till you get home to crack open that beer then you probably have a problem and need an intervention.