Everybody knows the famous state punchline, “Everything’s bigger in Texas!” But what a lot of people don’t know is that a lot of things are also more complicated in Texas. This rings especially true with their drinking laws. And it doesn’t get much more nuanced than in Dallas, where a weird patchwork of boundaries determine where you can buy your beer and booze. This means that you might stop in a local grocery store only to find that it can’t sell beer, but then walk a few blocks over and find entire strips of liquor stores. To better help you navigate the wild drinking laws of Dallas, Mike Howard, a criminal defense attorney based out of Dallas, TX, has broken down the rules with this light and easily digestible guide that anyone can consume.
Count the Counties
The first thing to know about Dallas is that it is composed of several smaller counties, each of which has its own laws regarding liquor sales and consumption. This is one of the reasons why there is such a patchwork of laws and restrictions. “Drinking laws in Dallas can get pretty complicated because of the intersection between state and local law,” Howard says, “and because counties set their own laws regarding sales, it gets pretty confusing.” So before you move to or visit an area in Dallas, make sure you know the local county laws.
Welcome to the Club
What is definitely one of the most perplexing and bizarre outcomes of the complicated liquor laws is the wave of “member clubs” that have sprung up to circumvent strict laws regarding the sale of alcohol. The term “member club” might sound like something out of the Elks Lodge or Freemason’s Society charter, but the reality is that the term is little more than just a loophole. Because there are entire counties that are restricted from selling alcohol even in restaurants, a large number of these restaurants parade as private “clubs” so that they can get around this law. In practice, this means very little to the consumer. For example, you might walk into a restaurant, sit down and enjoy a meal, and only after ordering a drink will they ask to see your ID, make you fill out a “membership card” and then finally serve you your drink.
Private Intoxication
Most states have public intoxication laws, but Texas has come under fire for having such extremely broad and vague laws regarding public drunkenness that officers have begun to abuse their power. The most recent controversies regarding public intoxication involve police officers entering bars and arresting drunks from within the bar. In fact, the law is so vague that an officer is legally allowed to arrest someone who is merely suspected of being drunk, without the need to issue a breathalyzer. While there’s not much that can be done on an individual level to prevent being targeted by the police for public intoxication, it’s something that’s important to know if you’re planning on drinking in Texas.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.