State v. Lake

I respectfully dissent. The majority would exonerate public intoxication, even though committed on a public street, on the ground that the act occurred in an automobile. The question whether a motor vehicle on a public street is a public place within the meaning of a criminal statute has been addressed by many courts. The overwhelming majority conclude an automobile on the highway is a public place. Berry v. City of Springdale, 381 S.W.2d 745, 747, 238 Ark. 328, 330 (1964) (defendant sitting in truck ten to twenty-five feet from traveled portion of highway was a “public place” for purposes of…