The Utah Supreme Court got one right on Friday ruling that in Utah, it’s legal to get drunk.  In Due South v. DABC, the central holding is:

in order to satisfy the may endanger element of the public intoxication statute, an officer must be able to articulate objective facts indicating a reasonable likelihood of endangerment based on the particular circumstances.

Due South, Inc. v. DABC, 2008 UT 71, ¶31

What this means is pretty simple.  In order to be found guilty of the state crime of “public intoxication” a police officer must be able to talk about something he observed which gave him a reasonable likelihood to believe you would endanger yourself or others.  No more “my experience is that intoxicated people…” or “he looked like he was falling down.”  That just won’t cut it.

Score one for the good guys, you and me, and one for a free society.