Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication 17 Year Old Daughter M.I.P. guilty?or not?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kris1971

New Member
I will apologize in advance for the length of this post.
On December, 30,th 2006 my daughter was at her girlfriends house there were several girls there ranging from 15 to 18 yrs old, when I say several I mean like 5 or 6. There were adults there the mother of the house and her fiancé'. The girls were sitting around watching movies. At around 11pm or there about a couple of the girls went to sleep, the others continued watching movies. These people also have a son, at around 11pm he came home with a couple of his friends, they had been drinking. The girls that were still awake heard them come home and went downstairs. The boys decided to walk down the street to a 24 hr gas station, while on their way a police man stopped them to ask them what they were doing out at the late hour I guess it was around 3:30am. He smelt alcohol on their breath, he proceeded to give them all a pbt test. Two of them registered on the pbt, one did not. He got all their names and addresses and let them go. The cop then proceeded to the house that the girls were at. Everyone was sleeping at the house but the officer knocked on the door and entered the house. They woke everyone up did a quick search of the house and told everyone present that this was the scene of an underage mip party. They started doing p b t test on everyone there. They only had 7 tubes so only 7 of them were tested. Out of the 7 that were tested 4 or 5 of them registered alcohol in them. The ones that did not blow were asked their names and addresses they were ran and all came back nil and clean. The officer stated that he was going to turn all the information gathered over to the prosecutor and they would be contacted. No one there received any tickets or citations what so ever. On Tuesday Jan 16 when I got home from work there was a message on my phone from the officer involved stating that he was so and so from the police department he was looking for a "Megan R#@#@(my daughter) He was calling to inform her that she had a warrant issued for her arrest, and she needed to turn herself in as soon as possible. He said the bond would be $50.00. Needless to say I was not very happy, I called the police department and asked to talk to the Sheriff, of coarse he was unavailable so I talked to the Under sheriff he told me that I needed to get my daughter there as soon as possible. And bring the bail money with me. I told him I didn't have the $50.00 and he said well she could be bailed out at any time so I could go find the money and come back there at anytime of the day or night to bail her out. I was like there is no way my daughter is going to jail for a MIP. Let alone a MIP that she NEVER should have got. Anyways I found the $50 took her down to the police department, they booked her, finger printed her, took her mug shot and then let me bail her out for $62.00 not $50 like they said.
Now my daughter was one of the girls that had gone to sleep at around 11pm that night, She was not drinking, and she had no idea that anyone other than the boys were drinking. She did not blow in the pbt tube because they said they had run out of them. When we were done at the police department we went to the prosecuting Attorney's office. I got a copy of the police report. In it the cops stated that they took the breathalyzers and gave all of the results and stated that my daughter and one other girl admitted to drinking earlier in the night. My daughter was LIVID to say the least. I know that the people that were tested and tested with alcohol will get convicted MIP's but how can they find my daughter guilty of it if they have no physical proof that she had consumed any alcohol. Now the house that they were at is ½ a block away from the police department. If a minor admitted to drinking alcohol and they were that close to the department don't you think that they would go there and get some more pbt's to test them to have proof? I think that they are just trying to make some quick money and we do intend on fighting these charges. I know I know the punishment is minimal but that is not the point to my family the point is why plead guilty to something that your not and you know that you are not guilty of? Also my daughter is a senior in high school with several scholarships and applications in the process…….I am afraid a conviction will tarnish all of the hard work she has put into her academic career thus far….she has been on the honor roll ever since she has been old enough to be. Anyone's input on if you think I am or am not doing the right thing, or any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
We are in Michigan by the way and my daughter is 17.
 
Standard answer

Here are some hints on appearing in court:

Dress professionally in clean clothes.

Do not wear message shirts.

Don't chew gum, smoke, or eat. (Smokers...pot or tobacco...literally stink. Remember that before you head for court.)

Bathe and wash your hair.

Do not bring small children or your friends.

Go to court beforehand some day before you actually have to go to watch how things go.

Speak politely and deferentially. If you argue or dispute something, do it professionally and without emotion.

Ask the court clerk who you talk to about a diversion (meaning you want to plead to a different, lesser charge), if applicable in your situation. Ask about traffic school and that the ticket not go on your record, if applicable. Ask also about getting a hardship driving permit, if applicable. Ask about drug court, if applicable.

From marbol:

"Judge...

You forgot the one thing that I've seen that seems to frizz up most judges these days:

If you have a cell phone, make DAMN SURE that it doesn't make ANY noise in the courtroom. This means when you are talking to the judge AND when you are simply sitting in the court room.

If you have a 'vibrate' position on your cell phone, MAKE sure the judge DOESN'T EVEN HEAR IT VIBRATE!

Turn it off or put it in silent mode where it flashes a LED if it rings. AND DON'T even DREAM about answering it if it rings."

(Better yet, don't carry your cell phone into the courtroom.)"


Here are six stories that criminal court judges hear the most (and I suggest you do not use them or variations of them):

1. I've been saved! (This is not religion specific; folks from all kinds of religious backgrounds use this one.)

2. My girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter/wife/ex-wife/niece/grandma/grand-daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled/crazy and needs my help.

3. I've got a job/military posting in [name a place five hundred miles away].

4. This is the first time I ever did this. (This conflicts with number 5 below, but that hasn't stopped some defendants from using both.)

5. You've got the wrong guy. (A variation of this one is the phantom defendant story: "It wasn't me driving, it was a hitchhiker I picked up. He wrecked the car, drug me behind the wheel then took off." Or, another variation: "I was forced into it by a bad guy!")

6. I was influenced by a bad crowd.

http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=854687#post854687

Public defender's advice

http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/70300494.html


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.
 
Possession does not equal ownership or even consumption. If they were present in a place and had the constructive control over the alcohol, they can likely be charged depending on the statutes in your state.

- Carl
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top