Ledger-Dispatch

By Kelly Scott (kenos@ledger-dispatch.com) =

A bar patron sits outside the Buckhorn = Lodge=20 Wednesday night. Seven people were arrested in early June for = disorderly=20 conduct.

Photo by: Kelly=20 Scott
One Friday night in June, Karen Kay, = her=20 husband Jeff and a friend were driving along New York Ranch Road when = they were=20 stopped by an Amador County Sheriff's deputy for speeding and weaving. = When=20 questioned, Kay admitted having a couple drinks earlier. While Kay = wasn't=20 driving, she was unsteady on her feet, slurred her speech and had a = strong odor=20 of alcohol. Based on that observation, the deputy determined that Kay = was unable=20 to safely care for herself or others and took her into = custody.

That same=20 night, 20-year-old Thomas Sanchez was at a party in Pine Grove, where he = had=20 been drinking and was asked to leave by the homeowner. He and several = others=20 refused to go and instead continued to party on the driveway. Sheriff's = deputies=20 were called in and attempted to question Sanchez, who refused to = respond.=20 Officers had to forcibly take Sanchez to the ground, as he still = resisted=20 arrest. He was handcuffed and taken to the county jail, where he was = booked on=20 the same charge as Kay, California penal code 647 F, better known as = being drunk=20 in public.

Often referred to as "disorderly conduct" or "public=20 intoxication," California penal code 647 F makes it a misdemeanor to be = drunk or=20 under the influence of drugs in a public place. Before arrest, officers = must=20 determine if subjects are so intoxicated that they cannot exercise care = for=20 their own, or others,' safety. If convicted, the violations will show up = on=20 criminal background checks.

"It is an arrest that just depends," = said=20 Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner. "It's a law that has such a wide = range=20 that it's all over the map and a matter of judgment."

In Amador = County,=20 seven people were arrested on the charge in a 25-day period in June. = According=20 to Wegner, the offense is one that spans all social and economic groups, = as well=20 as geographical regions.

Captain Christy Stidger of the Jackson = Police=20 Department said that the city sees this violation an average of twice a = week.=20 Lately, it has mostly been transients being arrested for disorderly=20 conduct.

"It's pretty much a citywide crime and not condensed = into one=20 area," she said. "Sometimes, if we can get them home or turn them over = to=20 someone who can take care of them, we don't have to do an = arrest."

The=20 penal code loosely means the person must be extremely intoxicated and = not just=20 merely "buzzed" in a public place, such as a city street, sidewalk, = restaurant=20 or in their vehicle parked on a public street. Contrary to popular = belief,=20 according to Sacramento attorney Neil Shouse, officers don't pick on = just anyone=20 to make a citation or arrest.

"If you are under the influence in = public=20 and have been contacted by an officer, it usually means either someone = has=20 complained or you are worse off than you believe yourself to be," said = Shouse,=20 who represents clients arrested for disorderly conduct. "An example = would be=20 someone who is falling down drunk or passed out."

District = Attorney Todd=20 Riebe said that although 647 F is a relatively minor offense, his office = looks=20 at all of the facts and each case individually before deciding whether = to file=20 charges.

"647 F is a misdemeanor offense and a six-month = misdemeanor," he=20 said. "No one usually gets that time. They go to the sobering cell until = they=20 are able to be released and, usually, that is considered time served and = they=20 are fined."

Riebe related his "647 F" story to the Ledger = Dispatch about=20 a man who was a chronic offender of the penal code. Riebe and the man's = defense=20 attorney were on the same page about keeping the man in jail long enough = to have=20 a court-ordered alcohol treatment plan in place. Unfortunately, the = judge=20 released the man, who became intoxicated almost immediately and walked = in front=20 of a bus.

"He basically committed suicide," said Riebe. "Those = are the=20 sad cases."

Dale Nelson was hitchhiking on Highway 88 in Pioneer = when he=20 was stopped by a county deputy last month. The officer noted that Nelson = was=20 having trouble standing without assistance and exhibited the red, watery = eyes=20 and slurred speech of someone who was intoxicated. He also smelled = strongly of=20 alcohol. After giving the officer three phony names and being unable to = produce=20 valid identification, the officer was able to ID Nelson as someone with = an=20 outstanding misdemeanor warrant for a 647 F. Nelson was placed into = custody and=20 booked in the county jail.

"There are the recreational drinkers = who=20 didn't know when to say when," Wegner said. "And there are the habitual = drinkers=20 who maybe had bad news that day. There is a really wide=20 gamut."

Convictions for 647 F can include probation, fines and up = to six=20 months in jail. According to Shouse, the charge is typically dismissed = when it=20 is the first offense and the circumstances are not too egregious. Often, = he=20 said, an arrangement can be worked out where the client agrees to attend = Alcoholics' Anonymous meetings, with the understanding the case will be=20 dismissed upon completion.

Kelly = Scott