MA Court: Driving With Open Container Is Not A Criminal Offense

BOSTON, MA — Drivers caught with an open container of liquor in their cars are committing a civil, not a criminal, offense according to a ruling issued Friday by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

The ruling changes the state's open container law, which was passed in 1982 as part of the state's effort to crack down on drunken driving. The rules were amended in 2000 to keep Massachusetts in compliance with federal regulations to receive federal highway money. Those changes expanded the rule, which previously prohibited driving "while drinking from an open container of any alcoholic beverage" to driving with an open container anywhere in the passenger area of the vehicle, regardless f who was drinking from the container.

Since then, courts in Massachusetts havecontinued to treat open container violations as criminal offenses. But the SJC's ruling said the rules were clearly intended to promote safe automobile operation and should be viewed as a civil infraction.

"The statute thus is aimed at the prevention of drunk driving, and therefore relates to the safe operation and use of a motor vehicle," the SJC said in its ruling. "Accordingly, an open container violation constitutes an automobile law violation."

The case stems from the 2018 arrest of Shawn Mansur, who was stopped by State Police in Marlborough and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and failure to have a valid inspection sticker.

The trial judge denied Mansur's pre-trial motion arguing that the open container violation was a civil offense. At trial, a jury acquitted Mansur of the OUI charge but found him guilty on the open container charge. Mansur appealed the denial of his motion.

With Friday's ruling, the case is sent back to the district court.