§ 5505. Public drunkenness and similar misconduct.
A person is guilty of a summary offense if he appears in any public place manifestly
under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, as defined in the act of
April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and
Cosmetic Act, except those taken pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner, as
defined in The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, to the degree
that he may endanger himself or other persons or property, or annoy persons in his
vicinity. A person convicted of violating this section may be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than $500 for the first violation and not more than $1,000 for the second
and each subsequent violation.
(June 18, 1999, P.L.67, No.8, eff. 60 days; Oct. 25, 2012, P.L.1663, No.205, eff.
60 days)
2012 Amendment. Section 2 of Act 205 provided that the amendment of section 5505 shall apply to offenses
committed on or after the effective date of section 2.
Cross References. Section 5505 is referred to in sections 3573, 8902 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial
Procedure); section 6138 of Title 61 (Prisons and Parole).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
79
cases (
24 in the last 5 years), 1981–2026 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Biagini, 655 A.2d 492 (Pa. 1995).
Commonwealth v. Swope, 123 A.3d 333 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 5505. 8 . 18 Pa.C.S. § 5503(a).”
Commonwealth v. Giulian v. Aplt., 141 A.3d 1262 (Pa. 2016).
“Giulian, then twenty years old, was arrested on April 20,1997, and ultimately pleaded guilty to the summary offenses of public drunkenness, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5505, and harassment, 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Roland, 637 A.2d 269 (Pa. 1994).
· cites it 2× “Further, if the minors attempted to leave the scene while in possession of the beer or in an intoxicated state, before a warrant was obtained, police could have taken action pursuant to 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Bennett, 124 A.3d 327 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“to the degree that he may endanger himself or other persons or property, or annoys persons in his vicinity 18 Pa.C.S. § 5505.' Police testimony demonstrated Bennett showed indicia of intoxication, including stumbling and slurred speech.”
Commonwealth v. Canning, 587 A.2d 330 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991).
· cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. § 5505. See, Commonwealth v. Shillingford, 231 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Noel, 857 A.2d 1283 (Pa. 2004).
· cites it 2× “§ 3731(a)(1), [2] and Public Drunkenness pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 5505. Following a preliminary hearing, the trial court found that there was sufficient evidence to hold Appellees for trial, and both of the appellees waived arraignment.”
Commonwealth v. Meyer, 431 A.2d 287 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981).
· cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. § 5505 states: A person is guilty of a summary offense if he appears in any public place manifestly under the influence of alcohol to the degree that he may endanger himself or other persons on property, or annoy persons in his vicinity.”
Commonwealth v. McCoy, 69 A.3d 658 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).
“McCoy was convicted of violating 18 Pa. C.S. §§ 5505(a)(3) 3 and 5508. In relevant part, Section 5503 states: (a) Offense defined.”
Commonwealth v. Bullers, 637 A.2d 1326 (Pa. 1994).
· cites it 2× “§ 3731, public drunkenness, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5505, or other riotous conduct which is encompassed in the police power to arrest in § 46121 of the Borough Code, 53 P.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5505(a)(3) — 2 cases
Commonwealth v. McCoy, 69 A.3d 658 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).
“McCoy was convicted of violating 18 Pa. C.S. §§ 5505(a)(3) 3 and 5508. In relevant part, Section 5503 states: (a) Offense defined.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5505(a)(5) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5505(b) — 2 cases
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.