The right to be drunk on the front porch of a private home was endorsed Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court, which said a woman can't be convicted of public intoxication while standing on her front steps.
Patience Paye, 29, of Waterloo based the appeal of her 2013 case on the contention that her front steps are not a public place so she can't be charged with public intoxication.
Justices agreed, rejecting a district court judge's conclusion that Paye's front porch was a public place because it was plainly accessible and visible to any passers-by and it was a place to which the public is permitted access.
Paye's attorney, Public Defender Rachel Regenold said it's an important property rights and personal liberty ruling.
"There was a concern how this could be extended if the court had found that front steps or front porches were public," she said.
Iowa Attorney General spokesman Geoff Greenwood said prosecutors "respect the court's ruling which has a narrow scope in that it addresses intoxication while a person is on the front porch of a single family home."
Paye called police around midnight June 22, 2013, after fighting with her boyfriend who told police he kept Paye's car keys from her because she was drunk. Officers questioned Paye on the front steps of her home and got her to agree to a breath test which revealed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.267 percent, more than three times the amount considered drunk if she were driving. She was charged with public intoxication and taken to the police station.
