New Brunswick, NJ Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

In the City of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, the open-container rule sits in Chapter 9.04, Offenses Against Public Peace and Decency. Subsection A of Section 9.04.020 states that it is unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession and to consume alcoholic beverages in public. The rule is written around two definitions that decide almost every case.

The first is the definition of a public place. It means any place to which the public has access and lists any street, highway, road, alley, boardwalk or sidewalk. It also reaches the front or the neighborhood of any store, shop, restaurant, tavern or other place of business, and public grounds, parks and marinas. Parking lots and other vacant private property are included when they are not owned by or under the control of the person charged. For a minor, the test is whether the property is owned or controlled by his or her parent or guardian, so a minor drinking on a parent's own property is outside the definition.

The second is the definition of consumption. The code counts actual consumption and constructive consumption, and constructive consumption applies where the individual is found to have intoxicating beverages in his or her possession with the seal or cap broken and with the cap or top off the container. A police officer therefore does not need to see anyone drink: an open container in hand on a sidewalk fits the printed definition.

Section 9.04.020 prints no penalty of its own. Chapter 1.08 supplies it: Section 1.08.010 applies to any ordinance of the city where no specific penalty is provided, with a fine of not less than $100.00 nor exceeding $2,000.00, or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, or both, or community service not exceeding 90 days at the discretion of the municipal court judge. Section 1.08.020 makes each day a separate violation, and Section 1.08.040 gives the municipal judge sole discretion to suspend fines or jail terms in exchange for a written agreement to perform voluntary public service work. Cases are heard in the New Brunswick municipal court.