§ 5853. Prohibition
TITLE 9: VEHICLE CODE § 5853 DIVISION 5: RULES OF THE ROAD § 5853. Open Container – Prohibition. (a) It is unlawful for any person to drink any alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle. (b) It is unlawful for any person to drink any alcoholic beverage while in a mo- tor vehicle or in the truck-bed of a motor vehicle. (c) It is unlawful for any person to possess an open container in the passenger compartment, utility compartment, or truck-bed of a motor vehicle. (1) This subsection does not apply to the operator of a bus or limousine for hire, licensed to transport passengers. (d) It is unlawful for any person, or person operating a bicycle, to possess an open container upon a highway or the shoulder of a highway in the Common- wealth. (1) Any person convicted for violation of subsection (d) is guilty of a misde- meanor and shall be punished upon conviction by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars (1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both fine and imprisonment. Source: PL 10-54, § 3; repealed and reenacted by PL 19-13, § 4(Section 2) (Oct. 23, 2015). Commission Comment: PL 10-54 contains severability and savings clauses as follows:
§ 5853 TITLE 9: VEHICLE CODE DIVISION 5: RULES OF THE ROAD Section 4. Severability. If any provision of this Act or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance should be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act or the appli- cation of its provisions to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby. Section 5. Savings Clause. This Act and any repealer contained herein shall not be construed as affecting any existing right acquired under con- tract or acquired under statutes repealed or under any rule, regulation or order adopted under the statutes. Repealers contained in this Act shall not affect any proceeding instituted under or pursuant to prior law. The enact- ment of this Act shall not have the effect of terminating, or in any way modifying, any liability, civil or criminal, which shall already be in exist- ence at the date this Act becomes effective. PL 19-13 included two sections designated “Section 4.” The Commission re- fers to these sections as “§ 4(Section 1)” and “§ 4(Section 2)” in the comments to the affected code sections. PL 19-13, § 4(Section 2) (Oct. 23, 2015) repealed and reenacted this section. For the Short Title and Findings and Purpose sections, see the Commission Com- ment to 9 CMC § 5852. The Commission changed “fine or” in subsection (h) to “fine of” to correct a manifest error pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(g).
Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission