An open container charge in Phoenix is a criminal charge, not a traffic ticket. Future First Criminal Law defends it as the misdemeanor it is, and we go after the count riding next to it at the same time.
Most people who call us were stopped for something small and drove away holding a criminal citation. A passenger’s leftover drink. A cup in the console. A bottle that rolled out from under a seat. None of it feels like a crime until you read the paperwork and see the word misdemeanor.
Call 602-900-7625. Phones are answered 24/7 and consultations are scheduled during business hours. You can also tell us what happened online and we will read your citation the same day.
TLDR
- An open container charge in Arizona is a class 2 misdemeanor, so a conviction sits on a background check next to any other criminal record.
- A passenger gets charged as fast as a driver, and the drink does not have to be yours.
- A closed trunk, a locked glove box, and the space behind the last upright seat in a vehicle with no trunk all sit outside the area the law covers.
- Open container is often the count a prosecutor trades away, and it is sometimes the count a DUI gets reduced to.
What does an open container charge mean in Arizona?
Arizona’s open container law covers two things inside a vehicle on a public road. Drinking alcohol while you drive or while you sit anywhere in the passenger compartment. And holding an open container of alcohol in that same passenger compartment. Both count, driver or passenger, moving or stopped at a light. You are welcome to read the open container law in full on the legislature’s site.
The word open is broader than most people expect. A bottle with a broken seal qualifies. A can with two sips gone qualifies. A cup poured at a restaurant and carried out qualifies. The container does not have to be in your hand, and the alcohol does not have to be yours.
Passenger compartment means the area built for the driver and passengers to sit in. It takes in an unlocked glove box and any unlocked portable container within reach of anyone in the car. It leaves out the trunk, a locked glove box, and in a vehicle with no trunk, the space behind the last upright seat. That last line decides a lot of these cases. A cooler in the cargo area of an SUV behind the rear seat is a different case from the same cooler on the rear bench.
The road matters too. The law reaches public highways and the right-of-way beside them, which is the full width between the boundary lines of any road kept up by a city, a county, or the state and generally open for driving. A private lot and a private driveway sit outside that description, and we raise the location whenever the stop supports it.
A few riders are written into the law itself. A passenger in a bus, a limousine, a taxi, or a rideshare vehicle while it is being used for rideshare trips is outside the ban. So is a passenger in the living quarters of a motor home. Drivers of those vehicles are not covered by either exception.
The penalty side is short. A class 2 misdemeanor carries up to four months in jail under Arizona’s misdemeanor sentencing law, a fine up to $750 before surcharges under the misdemeanor fine law, and probation up to two years. Most first offenses land nowhere near those ceilings. The real damage is the conviction itself, because it is criminal and it is permanent until a judge seals or sets it aside.
Phoenix cases are heard at Phoenix Municipal Court. Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe and Mesa each run their own city court, and a stop on a county road goes to a justice court. Read us your citation over the phone and we will tell you where your case sits and which prosecutor handles it.
The Law Behind This
| Charge or relief | What the law says | Typical outcome range |
|---|---|---|
| Open container in a vehicle | A.R.S. § 4-251 makes it a class 2 misdemeanor to drink alcohol or hold an open container in the passenger compartment of a vehicle on a public road, driver or passenger alike | A fine and an alcohol class on a first offense, amendment to a civil violation, or dismissal when the proof is thin |
| Jail exposure, class 2 misdemeanor | A.R.S. § 13-707 caps a class 2 misdemeanor at four months in jail | Custody is rare on a first open container, and most of these cases close with none |
| Fine exposure, class 2 misdemeanor | A.R.S. § 13-802 caps the fine for a class 2 misdemeanor at $750 | Surcharges and fees push the real number well past the base fine |
| DUI charged alongside open container | A.R.S. § 28-1381 makes a first DUI a class 1 misdemeanor carrying mandatory jail, an ignition interlock, screening and counseling | The open container count is often dismissed, and a DUI is sometimes reduced to open container instead |
| Sealing the record afterward | A.R.S. § 13-911 sets a two year wait for a class 2 or 3 misdemeanor, counted from the day the non-money terms of the sentence are finished | A dismissed count carries no wait, and a conviction waits out the two years |
How do we fight an open container charge in Phoenix?
We start with the two questions the prosecutor has to answer. Where was the container, and where was the vehicle. Neither answer is automatic, and both get written down by an officer in a hurry on the side of a road.
Location of the container comes first. A drink in the trunk is outside the charge. A drink in a locked glove box is outside the charge. In an SUV, a truck, or a hatchback with no trunk, anything behind the last upright seat is outside the charge. Police reports rarely describe the spot with that level of care, and a photo often shows something different from the narrative.
Ownership comes second. Four people in a car and one open cup on the floor is not proof against any single one of them. The prosecutor has to tie the container to a person, and a shared vehicle with a shared back seat makes that hard.
Then the container itself. A sealed bottle is not an open container. A cup of soda is not alcohol. If nobody photographed the container, nobody seized it, and nobody tested it, the case rests on one officer’s memory and three lines in a report. Weak proof is what gets a count amended down to a civil violation or dismissed outright.
The stop is the last piece. A traffic stop needs a lawful basis. When it does not have one, everything the police found afterward goes with it, including the container.
What we bring to the table is mechanical, not promotional. We run MVD hearings in-house when a DUI rides along, so the license fight and the criminal fight are handled by the same team on the same timeline. When blood was drawn, we send the sample to an independent lab for retesting instead of accepting the state lab number. Clients get recorded video updates from Zachary Divelbiss or Brielle Schumpe after court, so you hear what happened from your lawyer rather than piecing it together from a docket. Our results across Arizona DUI defense and alcohol-related misdemeanors are public, and so are our 250+ five-star Google reviews.
We charge flat fees with payment plans, and the structure is laid out on our pricing page before you hire anyone. We keep good people out of jail.
What happens when open container rides along with a DUI?
Open container rarely arrives by itself. It gets stacked with DUI, criminal speeding, reckless driving, or an underage alcohol count, because the same stop produces all of them. The DUI is the heavy one. A first DUI charge in Arizona is a class 1 misdemeanor with mandatory jail time, an ignition interlock, alcohol screening and a license suspension attached.
Two patterns repeat. In the first, the prosecutor keeps the DUI and drops the open container count as part of the resolution, because the smaller count adds nothing to the sentence. In the second, the DUI counts get dismissed and the plea lands on open container instead. The second pattern is the valuable one. Open container is not a DUI, so there is no interlock, no high risk insurance requirement, and no DUI sitting on your record for life. The sealing wait shortens as well.
Which pattern is available depends on the proof, the readings, the officer, and the city court you are in. Phoenix DUI cases move differently from cases in Scottsdale or Glendale, and a plea a Phoenix prosecutor signs off on is not always on the table one city over. That local read is most of the work.
Our Results
The client faced two criminal counts at Scottsdale City Court, criminal speeding paired with an open container count. We negotiated the speeding charge down to a civil traffic violation and the open container count was dismissed outright. The case closed with a civil fine, no jail, no probation, and no criminal conviction on either count. Read the full Scottsdale result.
The client faced two DUI counts and a reckless driving count elevated by a prior violation at Glendale City Court, all three of them class 1 misdemeanors. All three were dismissed and the case resolved as a single class 2 misdemeanor open container. One day of jail credited to time already served, no fine, no probation, and the twelve month ignition interlock avoided entirely. A set aside was granted about two months after sentencing. Read the full Glendale result.
The client faced a first offense DUI at Tempe Municipal Court. We had the charge amended to reckless driving, a class 2 misdemeanor and not a DUI. Zero jail, no interlock, no high risk insurance filing, no victim impact panel, and no DUI on the record. The sealing wait dropped from three years to two. Read the full Tempe result.
Every case turns on its own record and its own prosecutor. Past results do not predict what happens in yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an open container charge a criminal charge in Arizona?
Yes. It is a class 2 misdemeanor, which means a conviction is a criminal conviction and shows up on a background check. It is not a civil traffic ticket, and paying it like one closes the case with a criminal record attached.
Can a passenger get an open container charge?
Yes. The law reaches anyone inside the passenger compartment, so a passenger holding an open drink is charged the same as the driver. In a car with several people and one open container, the prosecutor still has to tie the container to a specific person, and that is where a lot of these cases come apart.
What if the drink was in the back seat?
The back seat is part of the passenger compartment, so a drink there is covered. The exclusions are the trunk, a locked glove box, and in a vehicle with no trunk, the area behind the last upright seat. A cooler in the cargo space of an SUV behind the rear seat sits outside the charge, and the same cooler on the rear bench does not.
What about an open container in a parked car?
The law turns on the road, not on motion. A vehicle parked on a public street or in the right-of-way beside it is still covered, and so is a vehicle stopped at a light. A private lot or a private driveway is a real argument, and we raise it when the stop location supports it.
What happens when an open container charge comes with a DUI?
The DUI is the heavier count and it drives the negotiation. Two outcomes show up over and over. The prosecutor drops the open container count as part of a DUI resolution, or the DUI counts get dismissed and the plea lands on open container instead. The second outcome keeps a DUI off your record and keeps an interlock off your car.
Does an open container conviction go on your record?
Yes. A class 2 misdemeanor conviction stays on your criminal record until a judge seals it or sets it aside. Any employer running a standard background check will see it.
Is it possible to seal an open container conviction later?
Often, yes. A class 2 misdemeanor conviction waits two years after the non-money terms of the sentence are finished, and a count that was dismissed has no wait at all. Our record removal team handles that work, so read how to seal or set aside the conviction later before you agree to any plea.
How much jail time does an open container charge carry?
Four months is the ceiling for a class 2 misdemeanor. That ceiling almost never gets used on a first open container with no other counts. Most of these cases end in a fine, an alcohol class, an amendment to a civil violation, or a dismissal.
Do you need a lawyer for an open container charge in Phoenix?
You are not required to hire one. The reason to hire one is the record, because a plea entered at a first hearing is a criminal conviction that follows you into every background check afterward. We charge a flat fee with payment plans, and a consultation costs nothing.
What happens at the first court date?
The first setting is an arraignment, where a plea is entered and the next date is set. If we are hired before it, we file the paperwork that lets us appear for you, and many misdemeanor settings go forward without you in the room. You show up when we tell you to. From there we ask for the report, the photos and any video, and the real negotiation starts.
Ready to talk to an open container defense attorney in Phoenix?
An open container charge is small on paper and permanent on a background check. We read the citation, the report and the location, then tell you the realistic paths before you hire us. Call 602-900-7625, or read what our clients say first and call when you are ready. The earlier we are in a case, the more room there is to move it.