Member of the bar? In court, tipsy defendant tells all, gets night in jail

 An island man showed up to the Town of Hilton Head Island Municipal Court ready to plead his case in slurred, excited speech, with beer on his breath, authorities said.

The 22-year-old man spoke loudly when he entered the courtroom, which at 2 p.m. Wednesday was filled with people settling traffic violations with deputies. The judge had called in sick, so no formal proceedings were taking place.

"It was obvious something was wrong with him," said Capt. Toby McSwain of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. "He appeared to be grossly intoxicated, so they locked him up."

When a deputy checked on him a couple hours later, the man said he had driven to his court date, a report stated. Apparently he didn't realize the docket clearly showed why he was at the courtroom in the first place: driving without a license.

He was charged with public disorderly conduct and a second count of driving without a license, before spending a night in the county jail.

Surprisingly, people stumbling to their day in court isn't that uncommon, said local officials.

Fuzzy logic and incoherent arguments aside, it's not the brightest idea, with a high concentration of law enforcement personnel inside most courtrooms.

"It's probably not a very good place to show up drunk," chuckled McSwain.

A clerk at Hilton Head's municipal court said she's only seen it once -- seven years ago at another job.

"It's not a daily occurrence," said Denise Brinson, who's worked as a clerk at the Bluffton Magistrate Court for two years. "We've had it happen once or twice."

Traffic courts also report that many people drive to their court date with suspended licenses or none at all. Most don't readily admit it to officers, though.

When caught, they're charged -- again. And court workers have a good laugh, and story.