While many alcohol-related arrests have to do with actually being drunk while driving, some are simply for having an open alcoholic beverage in your vehicle. This is called an open-container violation. There are open-container violations for when you are driving or when your car is parked. Here are some things to know about these types of legal cases.

Know Your Local Laws

You need to become familiar with your local laws since some states will impose open-container violations if the container is anywhere in your vehicle, even if you weren't drinking, while others only give you this type of violation if you were found to be drinking or in direct possession of the container. This lets you know your rights and how best to handle the case. If you were pulled over and a police officer arrested you for having an open container in the vehicle, but you were never drinking and local laws state you should not be prosecuted, get a lawyer from a firm like Kalasnik Law Office.

It Can be Any Type of Container

With an open-container violation, this can occur with any type of container in your vehicle that has an alcoholic beverage in it. This can be obvious ones like a beer bottle or liquor bottle, but it might also be a water bottle, flask, or even a coffee mug with liquor inside. If you got a violation where the police officer assumed you were drinking, but you never were, you should not be getting a DUI along with this violation. Consult a criminal lawyer if you believe you were arrested for something you should not be guilty of, such as if the police officer never gave you a field sobriety test.

You May Not be Arrested

If the police officer found you in possession of an open container with alcohol, but you passed your field sobriety test, you will likely not get arrested. In this case, you are given a ticket instead. However, you will likely need to appear in court and discuss the matter and pay a fine. If you have the open-container violation in addition to a DUI or DWI, expect an arrest and possibly some jail time, as well as losing your driver's license, as typical consequences.

Make sure you have a good lawyer to defend your case if you either believe you are being charged of a crime without sufficient evidence, or you need help defending the open-container violation case.