Does an officer have to witness an open container violation to issue a citation?

Candidate Friedman caught drinking beer in parade car

DALLAS � Gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Friedman rode in a St. Patrick's Day parade car Saturday with his trademark black hat and burning cigar � plus a beer in his hand, an apparent violation of the state's open container law.

A spokeswoman for Friedman, the author and musician running as an independent, acknowledged that the candidate drank from a can of Guinness handed to him. State law prohibits opened alcoholic beverages in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. The Class C misdemeanor carries a maximum fine of $500.

"Guinness is the drink that kept the Irish from taking over the world. It would be unthinkable not to have a Guinness during a St. Patrick's Day parade. In fact, it would be spiritually wrong," Friedman said in a statement issued by spokeswoman Laura Stromberg.

Dallas police didn't cite Friedman, and Lt. Rick Watson said Friedman can't be ticketed after the fact because it wasn't witnessed by an officer.

The weekend papers contained photos of Kinky holding a Guinness can while riding in his convertible. With his admissions and the statements of other witnesses it seems there should be enough to pursue charges--if anyone so desired. Surely this is the perfect opportunity to make an example and show that we are all equal under the law!

Really now, is this something that needs to be prosecuted?

What kind of message does it send to the public. Politicians are exempt from the law? I am not saying that anyone should prosecute; rather, that they could prosecute. The decision to prosecute, right or wrong, always lies with the prosecuting authority. Relying only on the portrayal provided by the media, which may or may not have correctly reported the event, I certainly do not know all the facts.

[This message was edited by John Stride on 03-13-06 at .]

"Really now, is this something that needs to be prosecuted?"

black label beer, maybe. or moosehead. but, guinness?

There is nothing wrong with the beer he was drinking. A fine drink in cold weather. In fact, maybe the brewery should consider offering him a token for promoting their product.

BRILLIANT! (although, I am partial to the ebullient optimism of the ad campaign for Red Stripe. "It's beer! Hooray, beer!")

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Originally posted by David Newell:
"Really now, is this something that needs to be prosecuted?"

black label beer, maybe. or moosehead. but, guinness?

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Once again, Newell proves to be the man with his finger on the pulse of PUBlic opinion!

This shows Freidman's true contempt for the law, the public, the children of this state and everything! It's time to quit pandering to this person who is famous strictly for being famous and not for any talent he has or work he's ever done.

Prosecuting a man for drinking a Guinness during a St. Patrick's Day parade is like kicking your dog for licking himself. You would've done the same thing if you could have, so why punish the poor sod for doing what comes naturally?



Shannon "Kiss me I'm Irish" Edmonds

Leave it to the Irish to justify anything to do with a bottle---or potatoes!!!!

If he'd strolled alongside the vehicle while imbibing, we'd only be considering his beverage of choice.

[This message was edited by Admin on 03-13-06 at .]

So, the moral/lesson we should garner from this is if you are riding in a car in a parade and someone hands you a beer (or any other alcoholic drink), get out before you open it. Walk along beside the car while you consume it. Shake a few hands. Kiss a few babies (or hotties wearing "Kiss Me I'm Irish" T-shirts) and THEN get back in the car.

My opinion of Kinky dropped markedly after he testified in the punishment phase of the capital case in Harris County for Max Soffar. I never thought he should be governor. By that same token, it ain't pandering when I question whether that is a case that needs to be prosecuted.

It's a beer. He's in a car in a parade. He's not driving. He may not be Irish, but it's an Irish holiday.

So would it be okay for Kinky to smoke pot or moon everyone in an Irish parade?

Does anyone lives in a county where 6 of your jurors would want to sit through that trial? What would he get upon conviction, a $1 fine?

Of course not, regarding pot and moons, everybody knows that's reserved for Mardi Gras, for crying out loud.

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Originally posted by John Stride:
So would it be okay for Kinky to smoke pot or moon everyone in an Irish parade?

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Only if he was mooning someone flying a Union Jack ....

(ok, we're even now.)

I don't find the joint/Guinness comparison valid. There is a legal and practical difference b/t a Class C and Class B.

Would any opinions change if, during the same Irish parade, onlookers had been arrested for p.i. or urinating in the streets?

Touche.... but doesn't part the Union Jack represent Ireland?

http://www.seiyaku.com/reference/union-flag.html

Hey, and if the dude isn't even Irish, why is everyone protecting his back?

[This message was edited by John Stride on 03-13-06 at .]

On certain holidays where votes might be at stake, he apparently adopts the identity that will best suit him. I think on this occasion he was putting himself forward as a member of the
O'Friedman clan from County Cork.