By DM Cantor, a Top-Ranking Criminal Defense firm in Arizona for the last 6 years in a row by Ranking Arizona Magazine! (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)


Plus an additional 200+ Miscellaneous Crimes Pre-Indictment “Turn-Downs,” Dismissals, and Charge Reduction Miscellaneous Crimes Victories!
Beware of Miscellaneous Crimes Crimes Defense “Pretenders”: Any law firm or Attorney can have DM Cantor’s Phoenix Miscellaneous Crimes Attorney and Miscellaneous Crimes Lawyer website information re-written by artificial intelligence (AI), and then they can post it online as their own “knowledge base.” But they cannot falsely list our Jury Trial Complete Acquittals, or Board Certifications as their own. Also, many Attorneys claim that they “Specialize” in defending Miscellaneous Crimes charges or Criminal Defense, but only a “Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialist” is allowed by the State Bar of Arizona to use this title as their own, per the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization.
While most drivers in Arizona know that they cannot drink and drive, some might be unaware that they also are prohibited from having open containers of alcohol in their vehicles. If you are stopped by the police and have an open container of alcohol in your vehicle, you can be charged with violating the state’s prohibition against having an open container of alcohol in your car. It is not a defense to a charge of having an open container that you were not drinking alcohol from it at the time.
It also does not matter that you are of a legal age to possess and consume alcohol. An open container conviction may come with serious penalties. If you have been charged with a violation of the state’s open container laws, the attorneys at DM Cantor may be able to defend you against the charge.
Board Certified Criminal Law Specialization
As of the start of 2025, the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization listed only 62 Criminal Law Specialists in the entire State. Of these 62, only 41 are located in Maricopa County and are allowed to handle private cases. DM Cantor has 2 Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialists, no other law firm in Arizona has more. When defending Open Container Crimes Allegations, it is critical to have as many Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialists on your Legal Team as is possible.
The Specialization process is so rigorous that only 34 current Criminal Law Specialists were Certified since the turn of the Century! In addition, all Specialists must be approved for Re-Certification every 5 years. At DM Cantor, our 2 Board Certified Criminal Law Specialists have conducted Jury Trials on countless Open Container Crimes cases.
Every Major Felony Open Container Crimes case defended by DM Cantor includes at least 1 Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist on the legal team who is directly handling or supervising the Defense.
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Best Phoenix Open Container Law Team in Arizona
How do you know who has the best Open Container Legal Defense Firm in Arizona? You begin by looking at the team’s experience. David Michael Cantor is a former Prosecutor, and a highly experienced Open Container in Arizona Attorney who became a member of the Arizona State Bar in 1989. David then began his Arizona legal practice as an Assistant City Prosecutor for the City of Phoenix. Considered as one of the Top Open Container Crime Defense Lawyers in Arizona, he then founded his own Criminal Defense firm and Arizona Open Container Crime Defense Team, DM Cantor.
David is a highly-skilled Open Container Defense Lawyer who knows the Open Container laws backward and forward, and he will vigorously fight the Arizona State Attorney General or County Prosecutor on your behalf. Phoenix Open Container Lawyer, and Criminal Defense Attorney David Cantor, wrote this webpage in order to give you an Arizona Open Container Crimes overview as to how the DM Cantor Phoenix Open Container Crimes Attorney Defense Team can prove your Innocence if you have been Falsely Accused of Open Container. So whether you have a single Open Container charge, or multiple charges, contact DM Cantor today!
In addition to Phoenix area experience, you next look to the Open Container Defense Lawyer’s Results and Certifications. In addition to David Cantor being a Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialist, his partner (Christine Whalin) is also a Certified Criminal Law Specialists as well. No other Arizona Criminal Defense Firm has as many Complete Jury Trial Acquittals as DM Cantor. Click on the link below to see Questions to Ask when Interviewing a Open Container Attorney to represent you in your Court case.
Beware: Be very cautious of visiting with a Criminal Law Firm who has you meet with a Non-Attorney Salesperson, rather than a Licensed Attorney. They will then try to sell their “legal services,” even though they are not allowed by the State Bar of Arizona to give legal advice. DM Cantor always has you meet with one of the Partners and Certified Criminal Law Specialists in our office when consulting us regarding a Open Container charge.
What are the Open Container Laws in Arizona?
In Arizona, having an open container of alcohol in your vehicle is prohibited under A.R.S. § 4-251. Under this statute, you cannot have an open container of alcohol inside your vehicle’s passenger compartment. An open container includes any bottle or can of an alcoholic beverage that has had its seal broken or some of the beverage removed, including wine, spirits, beer, mixed drinks, or malt liquor. The law does not prohibit transporting unopened bottles of alcohol that you have purchased at a store or have been given by friends as long as their seals are not broken. However, if you go out to a fine-dining establishment and order a bottle of wine, you can be charged with an open container of alcohol violation if you subsequently transport the remaining wine home in your car after dinner.
If you are charged and convicted of a violation of the open container law, it is a class 2 misdemeanor. Under A.R.S. § 13-707, you may face a sentence to jail of up to four months. Under A.R.S. § 802, you can also face a fine of up to $750 for a class 2 misdemeanor conviction in Arizona. A conviction for violating the state’s open container law means that you would have a criminal record, which could also cause other problems for you at your job or with finding a job that you want.
What if a Passenger in Ride-Share like Uber or Lyft?
Arizona’s open container law does include some exceptions. The rule does not apply to people who are in the living areas of motor homes. It also does not apply to passengers in taxis, limousines, or a transportation network company vehicle. In A.R.S. § 28-9551, a transportation network company is defined as a company that has been licensed by the state of Arizona to connect passengers and vehicles with rides over a digital network. This would include ride-share services like Uber, Lyft, and any others that have been licensed by the state to offer ride-share services, which would mean that you should not be charged with violating the state’s open container law if you transport an opened bottle of alcohol home while you are taking a ride in an Uber or Lyft vehicle.
If you are an Uber or Lyft driver, you also should not face charges for violating the state’s open container law if one of your passengers has an open container in his or her possession while you are using the service. If you a ride-share driver and have been cited for an open container, contact our defense attorneys immediately.
Does an Open Container Charge Stack with a DUI?
In many cases, people who are charged with an open container of alcohol charges are also charged with DUIs if they are suspected to be under the influence of alcohol. Under A.R.S. § 28-1381, you may be charged with a DUI if you are suspected to be under the influence of alcohol and are impaired in the slightest degree. You can also be charged with a DUI if your blood alcohol concentration is measured at 0.08% or higher within two hours of when you were operating or in actual physical control of your vehicle.
If you are stopped with an open container in your car and are suspected of driving under the influence, the police officer may place you under arrest and take you to the police station. He or she may then ask you to submit to a breath test to check the level of alcohol in your blood. The prosecutor may charge you with both a DUI and an open container violation and may try to stack the charges. If you are convicted of both offenses, you can be sentenced for both the DUI and the open container of alcohol conviction.
What if I am a Passenger and not the Driver?
There is no exception in the open container law for passengers. This means that you can be charged with a violation of Arizona’s open container law if you have an open container in a vehicle in which you are riding as a passenger. You do not have to actually be drinking from the container to be charged with the offense.
If you are a driver and one of your passengers has an open container of alcohol, you may also be charged with a violation of the open container law since the bottle or can is located in the passenger compartment of your vehicle. However, if the passenger is sitting behind you and opens a bottle, you may be able to defend against the charge because of a lack of knowledge that he or she opened the container of alcohol out of your sight.
What is the Minimum Amount of Fluids in a Container to be Considered?
Arizona’s open container law does not define a minimum amount of fluids that must be inside of a container to count as a violation of the open container law. The law simply prohibits having an open container of an alcoholic beverage that has had its seal broken, has been opened or has had its contents partially removed. This means that you could be charged with an open container law violation even if there are minimal amounts of alcohol left in the open container.
You could potentially be charged with a violation of this law if you pick up cans or bottles and transport them in the passenger compartment of your car. Under the law, however, the passenger compartment of your vehicle does not include the trunk or inside of a locked glove box, meaning that you should be able to transport opened containers in these areas since they are out of your reach.
What if the bottles are in the trunk?
The law contains an exception for having opened containers of alcohol in areas that are not considered to be in the passenger compartment of your vehicle. Under this exception, the trunk of your vehicle and your locked glove box are both considered to be outside of your passenger compartment. If your vehicle does not have a trunk, the area behind the last row of seats is also excepted from the open container rules.
Possible Defenses to an Open Container Charge
The potential defenses that might be available to you will depend on the particular facts of your case. Your attorney at DM Cantor will review the police reports and other evidence that might be held against you to identify all of the potential defenses to your charges. Your lawyer might review how the stop was conducted and how the evidence was discovered.
If the police officer who stopped your vehicle did not have a reasonable suspicion that you had violated any traffic laws, your lawyer may file a motion to suppress the stop of your vehicle. Under the law, any evidence that is gathered after an unconstitutional stop by the police must be suppressed as the fruit of the poisonous tree. If your attorney is successful with this type of motion, the prosecutor would be unable to use any of the evidence against you and would likely have to dismiss your charges.
Your attorney might also review how the law enforcement officer discovered the open container in your vehicle. If he or she discovered the open container during a warrantless search that he or she conducted without probable cause, your lawyer may file a motion to seek the suppression of anything that the officer found during the unconstitutional search. If your lawyer was successful, this would mean that the prosecutor would be unable to use the discovered containers against you and would likely be forced to dismiss the open container charge against you.
If you are a driver and are charged because a passenger had an open container, you might be able to defend against the charge if you were unaware that your passenger opened the bottle of alcohol. For example, if a passenger in your back seat opens a bottle and surreptitiously takes some drinks from it, you may be able to beat the charge because you did not know that he or she had opened the container.
Your attorney might also be able to identify other defenses that he or she could raise in your case. After analyzing the facts and the law, your lawyer can talk to you about the defenses that might be raised and help you to determine the best way to move forward.
Get Help from a Law Firm Dedicated to Vehicular / DUI Defense
If you are facing a charge of having an open container of alcohol in your vehicle, you might not think that it is very serious. However, a conviction for the offense is a class 2 misdemeanor that carries the potential for up to four months in jail and a fine of $750. If you have a misdemeanor on your record, it can also cause some collateral consequences beyond the criminal penalties that you might face. For example, if you are sentenced to spend time in jail, you could potentially lose your job. Having a criminal record can also make it more difficult to find a job that you want or to get approved for housing.
Because of the potential penalties and collateral consequences of a conviction for violating the state’s open container of alcohol law, it is important for you to seek help from an experienced criminal defense lawyer. An attorney at DM Cantor may be able to raise defenses to your charges and to win the dismissal of the charges. He or she may also be able to negotiate with the prosecutor who is assigned to your case to secure a plea agreement to a lesser charge or to a deferred prosecution. Your lawyer might also agree to fight the charges against you throughout the court process up through a trial.
We are an AV® rated law firm (the highest possible rating by Martindale Hubbell®). Also David Michael Cantor is a Open Container lawyer in Arizona, and a Certified Criminal Law Specialist, per the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization. In addition, the Firm and all of its lawyers are listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers®. At DM Cantor, the majority of our Attorneys are ex-Prosecutors, and all of our Open Container Lawyers in Arizona know the system well.
The Collateral Consequences Of An Open Container Conviction
The effects of a Open Container conviction can be devastating. Even if a person is to receive Probation with no Jail, or a small Jail or Prison sentence, after they are released there will be lifelong effects on the Defendant. This can involve Lifetime Probation; job restrictions; apartment/dormitory restrictions or prohibitions; Professional Licenses being Revoked; loss or severe restriction of internet privileges; etc. Check the link below for information regarding what Collateral Consequences you or a loved one might be facing.
Mitigation
When it comes to “Mitigation” regarding a charge of Open Container Crimes, it is important to start that process right away. Not only can this help us with potentially convincing a Prosecutor to not file charges in the first place, but it may reduce the level of charges that they ultimately file. In addition, if there is a conviction later, this can be used to help reduce any type of Sentence if there is a “Range.” The Mitigating Factors which are considered by both the Prosecutor and the Courts includes Statutory and Non-Statutory elements.
Many items that we routinely include in our Mitigation Packages include Psychosexual Risk Evaluations; Polygraphs; Neuro-Psychological Evaluations; Counseling records; substance abuse Treatment and/or Rehabilitation; and a complete history of a person’s background. This can include Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), medical records, Counseling records, etc. Lastly. we often include what’s known as a “Proportionality Review/Sentencing Disparity” analysis in which we can show the Prosecutor and Court that similarly-situated Defendants received low Sentences. Click the link below to see a more detailed list of both Statutory and Non-Statutory Mitigating Factors.
Click here to see Helpful Mitigation Information
Work with a DM Cantor Phoenix Open Container Lawyer Today For a Free Consultation
For a free consultation and free case evaluation with one of our Phoenix Open Container Crimes Lawyers and Criminal Defense Lawyers, call our 24 hour Phoenix Open Container Defense Lawyers Hotline at 602-307-0808 , or click here for a free consultation on any criminal cases. Our aggressive Open Container Crimes Lawyers always offer free consultations for an initial visit with our Phoenix Open Container Crimes Defense Attorneys. We are often considered to be the “best Open Container Crimes Defense Lawyer”.