Opinion No.

The Honorable Jack Critcher State Senator P.O. Box 79 Grubbs, Arkansas 72431-0079

Dear Senator Critcher:

I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on A.C.A. §5-71-212(c), the statute that prohibits "drinking in public." Your question is as follows:

Under the law, can a passenger in a vehicle be cited for drinking in public and be subject to prosecution even if he is not the driver of the vehicle? Also, is a personal vehicle, i.e. car, van, pickup, considered a public place?

I have a constituent who was cited for drinking in public. He was the passenger, not the driver, riding in a…