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This web page is intended to provide general information
on legal issues for students of Texas A&M University. Specific advice regarding an
individual person or situation should be requested from an attorney. This web page should
be used for general information reference only and is not
intended to provide legal advice.
A
review of the following crimes should cause students to reconsider their use of alcohol.
Often,
a person will be charged with multiple offenses. For
example, a person could be charged with being a Minor in Possession of
Alcohol, Failure to ID, and Public Intoxication all at the same time. Added
together, these minimum fines total $1,200.00, not counting any additional
penalties and costs. However, the
police often require more for bonding out of jail than the minimum amount .
Students who choose to violate these laws
and are arrested will face a difficult period in their lives as they struggle
to comply with the consequences.
For
more information, please contact Student Legal Services, Student Conflict
Resolution Services, Offices of the Dean of Student Life 847-7272.
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Possession
of a fake ID is a Class B
misdemeanor! All Class B
misdemeanors have a possible punishment of six months in jail and a $2,000.00
fine. Fake ID is on the same
penalty level as a first DWI. Furthermore,
the suspect would be arrested and need to bond out of jail. This law also
applies to anyone who possesses more than one driver’s license. Furthermore,
if a person
under 21 years of age is found by the police to be in possession of alcohol,
the police will suspect that s/he has a fake ID.
A
driver's license can be suspended for one year for fake ID and
DWI.
Driving with a Suspended DL is a Class B misdemeanor with further loss
of driver’s license. Penalties and suspension periods increase on subsequent
arrests.
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A person commits DWI if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor
vehicle in a public place. DWI is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of
confinement of 72 hours. If an open container of alcohol was in the driver's
immediate possession, the minimum term of confinement is six days. A second DWI
within 10 years is a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of
30 days. A third DWI within 10 years is a third degree felony. A second DWI
within 5 years will cause installation of a breath test devise on the vehicle to
prevent operation if ethyl alcohol is detected in the operator's breath.
Intoxicated means not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties
by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a
dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other
substance into the body; or having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
If the driver had a passenger who is younger than 15 years of age, the DWI is
a state jail felony, instead of a Class B misdemeanor.
The fact that the driver is or has been entitled to use the alcohol,
controlled substance, drug, dangerous drug, or other substance is not a defense.
A person commits Boating While Intoxicated if the person is intoxicated while
operating a watercraft. BWI is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of
confinement of 72 hours.
A person commits Intoxication Assault if the person, by accident or mistake
while operating an aircraft, watercraft, or motor vehicle in a public place
while intoxicated, by reason of that intoxication causes serious bodily injury
to another person. Intoxication Assault is a third degree felony. Often, the
injured person will be the driver's own passenger. If the passenger or another
person dies, the offense is Intoxication Manslaughter, a second degree felony.
Each year, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) assesses a surcharge on the
driver's license of drivers who during the past 3 years were convicted of DWI.
The surcharge is $1,000 per year for 3 years. A second DWI conviction costs a
surcharge of $1,500 per year for 3 years. If the driver had an alcohol
concentration of 0.16 or more, the surcharge is $2,000 per year for 3 years.
Driver licenses can be suspended for one year for DWI. Driving with a
suspended license is a Class B misdemeanor with increased license suspension
time. In addition, the DPS assesses a $250 surcharge on the license per year for
3 years.
If a driver of any age refuses a breath or blood test, the DPS shall suspend
the driver's license for 180 days. The suspension term increases to two years if
the driver has one or more alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contacts
during the past 10 years.
If a driver who is 21 years of age or more fails to pass the test for
intoxication, the DPS shall suspend the driver's license for 90 days. The
suspension term increases to one year if the driver has one or more
alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contacts during the past 10 years.
For a driver under the age of 21 years, the suspension term for failure to
pass the test for intoxication is 60 days for the first offense, 120 days for
the second, and 180 days for the third.
An ignition interlock device will have to be installed on the car of a
person convicted of driving with a blood alcohol level of .15 or more, if
the defendant is to receive probation.
-- Last updated: February 2006.
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For
all of the Brazos County Justice of the Peace Courts, including Judge
Boyett’s Precinct 3 court which hears all of the cases that involve
charges by the UPD and TABC with Class C misdemeanors, the minimum amount
for a Public Intoxication fine is $450.00.
The third PI is a Class B misdemeanor referred to the Brazos County
Court At Law which has jurisdiction over all misdemeanors above Class C.
See
the Student Legal Services PI page for more information.
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The
City of College Station Municipal Court’s schedule of minimum fines has
increased. Failure to Identify by giving the police a false
date of birth is not only a $420.00 fine, but the suspect will be arrested
and need to bond out of jail.
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The
City of College Station Municipal Court’s schedule of minimum fines has
also increased for a Disorderly Conduct violation. The fine for a first offense for a Disorderly Conduct
violation is now $390.00; with a second offense at $560.00; a third offense
at $560.00; and a Class B
misdemeanor for the fourth offense.
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The
College Station Police are now charging all roommates on the lease contract
at a noisy house party with Disorderly Conduct by Noise, instead of issuing
a warning or only charging one of the tenants.
The minimum fine for DOC is $390.00 for the first offense, $560.00
for the second, $560.00 for the third, and a Class B misdemeanor for the
fourth.
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The
City of College Station Municipal Court’s schedule of minimum fines has
also increased. Possession of Alcohol by a Minor is now $390.00 for the
first offense, $560.00 for the second offense, and a Class B misdemeanor for
the third offense.
A
driver's license can be suspended for 30 days on the
first MIP.
Driving with a Suspended DL is a Class B misdemeanor with further
loss of driver’s license. Penalties and suspension periods increase on subsequent
arrests.
See
The Student Legal Services MIP page for more specific information.
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The
City of College Station Municipal Court’s schedule of minimum fines has also
increased in this area. A Minor DUI is $490.00 for the first offense and
$560.00 for the
second offense.
In
addition, many underage students don’t realize that to be arrested as a
Minor Driving Under the Influence (Minor DUI), an individual needs to have
only a trace of alcohol present on
their breath. There is no need for any
kind of blood, breath, or physical test; a police officer merely has to smell
or detect the presence of alcohol. A suspect arrested for a DUI will be taken
to jail to bond out and, unless there is a sober individual in the car that
can drive the vehicle home, it will be towed at an expense of $120.00 to an
impound yard and the intoxicated passengers arrested for Public Intoxication.
A
driver's license can be suspended for 60 days for the first
DUI.
Driving with a Suspended DL is a Class B misdemeanor with further loss
of driver’s license. Penalties and suspension periods increase on subsequent
arrests.
See
the Student Legal Services DUI page for more specific information.
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Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor is a Class A misdemeanor. A person commits
this offense if s/he purchases an alcoholic beverage for or gives or with
criminal negligence makes available an alcoholic beverage to a minor. The only
exceptions to this code are when parents, guardians, spouses 21 years of age or
more purchases alcohol for him/her. However, these
aforementioned adults must be visibly present when the minor possesses or
consumes the alcoholic beverage.
A person's driver's license is automatically suspended for 180 days on
final conviction of the offense of Purchase of Alcohol for a Minor or
Furnishing Alcohol to a minor. Civil Liability for Provision of Alcohol
to a Minor. An adult 21 years of age or older is liable for
damages proximately caused by the intoxication of a minor under the age of
18 if the adult is not the minor's parent, guardian, or spouse; or an adult
whose custody the minor has been committed by a court; and the adult
knowingly served or provided to the minor any of the alcoholic beverages
that contributed to the minor's intoxication; or allowed the minor to be
served or provided any of the alcoholic beverages that contributed to the
minor's intoxication on the premises owned or leased by the adult. Top
A person commits this
offense if with criminal negligence s/he sells an alcoholic beverage to a minor.
A defense is if the minor falsely represents himself/herself as being 21 years old or older
with an apparently valid Texas driver's license, or identification card issued
by the Texas Department of Public Safety, that contains a physical description
consistent with the individual's appearance for the purpose of inducing the
individual to sell him/her an alcoholic beverage then this offense has not been
committed. Sale of Alcohol to a Minor is a Class A misdemeanor.
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A person commits this offense if the person knowingly possesses an open
container in a passenger area of a motor vehicle that is located on a public
highway, regardless of whether the vehicle is being operated or is stopped
or parked. Possession by a person of one or more open containers in a single
criminal episode is a single offense.
Open
container means a bottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount
of alcoholic beverage and that is open, that has been opened, that has a
broken seal, or the contents of which are partially removed.
Passenger
area of a motor vehicle means the area of a motor vehicle designed for the
seating of the operator and passengers of the vehicle. The term does not
include a glove compartment or similar storage container that is locked; the
trunk of a vehicle; or the area behind the last upright seat of the vehicle,
if the vehicle does not have a trunk.
Public
highway means the entire width between and immediately adjacent to the
boundary lines of any public road, street, highway, interstate, or other
publicly maintained way if any part is open for public use for the purpose
of motor vehicle travel. The term includes the right-of-way of a public
highway.
Possession
of Open Container of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle is a class C
misdemeanor.
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A person commits Possession of Marijuana if the person knowingly or
intentionally possesses a usable quantity of marijuana.
Possession
of two ounces or less is a class B misdemeanor.
Possession of four ounces or less but more than two ounces is a class A
misdemeanor.
Possession of five pounds or less but more than four ounces is a State
Jail Felony.
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A person commits Possession of Drug Paraphernalia if the person knowingly or
intentionally uses or possesses with intent to use drug paraphernalia to
plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert,
produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, or
conceal a controlled substance in violation of the Texas Health and Safety
Code or to inhale, ingest, inject, or otherwise introduce into the human
body a controlled substance in violation of the Texas Health and Safety
Code.
Possession
of Drug Paraphernalia under the above is a class C misdemeanor.
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