Commonwealth v. Osterhoudt

By JUDGE THOMAS D. HORNE

This matter came before the Court on an appeal from the General District Court. Mr. Osterhoudt is charged with the offense of being drunk in public, a violation of Virginia Code § 18.2-388. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.

On September 8, 1989, the defendant was arrested while on private property not his own and charged with the aforementioned offense. In order to sustain a conviction, the accused must be shown beyond a reasonable doubt to be both "drunk" and "in public." Drunkenness other than in public is not an offense under § 18.2-388.

Since this Code…