Originally Posted by darthbimmer

The first post mentioning open container laws did reference them relative to driving, but the same types of laws in the US do very much apply to people on foot in public spaces such as sidewalks. Try walking back to your home or hotel with a half-finished bottle of wine in your hand, and in many jurisdictions the police can cite you for an infraction. It's not always their highest enforcement priority, of course, but if you are doing something else that attracts police attention in a negative way they can and will use the violation as a way to stop, question, search, cite, and possibly arrest you.