Posted on October 24, 2006 by Jamie Spencer

Definition of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) - Texas Penal Code Section 49.04

§ 49.04. Driving While Intoxicated. 

(a) A person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and Section 49.09, an offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours.

(c) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that at the time of the offense the person operating the motor vehicle had an open container of alcohol in the person's immediate possession, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of six days.

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David Newton - February 5, 2008 2:59 AM

Can you tell me what "in the person's immediate possession" in section (c) of DWI includes?

Thanks.

Mike Ferraro - April 6, 2008 2:44 PM

In a DWI case with an open container, does the container need to be collected to be considered evidence?

JOANN BRUMFIELD - May 14, 2008 10:10 AM

My son was arrested on 5/11/08 for DWI. He was sitting parked in his car behind the wheel with the ignition running at the entrance gate of an apartment complex when the officer arrived. Can this be considered driving while intoxicated if he was not actually driving at the time and is parked on the grounds of an apartment complex a "public" place? Isn't the driveway/entrance of an apartment complex "private" property and not "public" property?

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