Iowa Supreme Court affirms right to be drunk on front porch

The right to be drunk on the front porch of a private home was endorsed Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court, which said a woman can't be convicted of public intoxication while standing on her front steps.

Patience Paye, 29, of Waterloo based the appeal of her 2013 case on the contention that her front steps are not a public place so she can't be charged with public intoxication.

Justices agreed, rejecting a district court judge's conclusion that Paye's front porch was a public place because it was plainly accessible and visible to any passers-by and it was a place to which the public is permitted access.

"If the front stairs of a single-family residence are always a public place, it would be a crime to sit there calmly on a breezy summer day and sip a mojito, celebrate a professional achievement with a mixed drink of choice, or even baste meat on the grill with a bourbon-infused barbeque sauce — unless one first obtained a liquor license. We do not think the legislature intended Iowa law to be so heavy-handed," Justice Daryl Hecht wrote in the court's unanimous opinion.


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[link to www.desmoinesregister.com]


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