A federal appeals court in Richmond will take another look at a Virginia law that lets police arrest people designated as “habitual drunkards” if they are caught with alcohol.
In August, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the law.
On Thursday, the full court agreed to reconsider the case in January.
The law dates back to the 1930s and makes it a crime for habitual drunkards to possess, consume or purchase alcohol, or even attempt to do so. Violators face up to a year in jail and fines of up to $2,500.
The Legal Aid Justice Center argued that the law punishes homeless alcoholics who have nowhere else to drink but in public, criminalizes addiction and violates the 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
The three-judge panel found that the state has a “legitimate interest” in discouraging alcohol abuse.
Under the law, prosecutors can go to court to ask a judge to declare someone a habitual drunkard. Once that happens, police can arrest that person for being publicly intoxicated, possessing alcohol or being near open containers of alcohol.
From 2007 to 2015, more than 1,220 people were designated as “habitual drunkards” in Virginia, according to data reported to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
