Alcohol & Drugs: DUI, DWI Charged With DUI,Possession, & Paraphernalia

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treatss

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I reside in Pennsylvania and I am 18 years old and I did have a clean record till now. So I was sitting my car in a parking lot with some friends and a cop rolled up and proceeded to question us. He asked to search the car, probable cause being he smelled marijuana. He seized around .5 grams of marijuana, a straight pipe with residue, and a grinder. Since everything belonged to me, I was the only person arrested and taken into custody. I was then taken to a hospital where blood was drawn to determine the concentration of THC in my system. I am being charged with DUI, possession of a small amount of marijuana, and one count of possession of paraphernalia. Needless to say, I have really no clue what's going to happen to me now, hence why I am posting this. I ask of anyone who has knowledge on a situation like this to please tell me what kind of punishment I can expect.
 
Lawyer up to fight the DUI portion of this. The possession charges are minor. With the DUI you will be hosed for a long time.
I suspect you were arrested for the DUI, not for the possession... but maybe PA has some strict laws. Here in CA you would have just gotten a ticket for the possession, and the pipe is actually legal if you are an adult.
A good lawyer might be able to fight back that DUI charge though... and yes, technically, it is a legitimate charge.
 
I was actually arrested first for possession, then when I got to the police barracks the slapped me with the DUI, because I was in my car and it was on, but they did not see me drive it, it was just parked. They also didn't impound my car, they actually let my friend whom I was with drive off with it, which I thought was weird since we just got busted for having a car smell like weed.
 
Definately get a lawyer. It's very hard to prosecute Drugged Driving, at least in my State. . . as you know Marijuna stays in your system and on blood tests long after you've stopped, and if you don't admit to smoking anything to the police, again, hard to charge. . .
 
I'm am getting a lawyer. & on another note I was never read my rights. I was only read the rights to giving a blood sample, does that have any effect on my case?
 
Well... again, PA law may be stiffer and allow for the arrest on simple possession.
It does not matter that they did not see you driving the car. You were in control of the vehicle and they have all they need to make a legitimate charge for DUI. Impounding the car was not necessary, though since you, the driver, were arrested, it probably COULD have been towed if they wanted to.
There are rules that apply to when you must be advised of your rights. As you describe it here, I can easily see a scenario in which you are arrested and never need to be read your rights. You are not automatically advised of your rights just because you are arrested.
 
In my case I was arrested brought back to the barracks, handcuffed and shackled, and placed in a room where the officers present started asking me questions, few I did answer. They presented me with two options of what I could do, I respectfully told them before making an choices I would like to speak to a lawyer. If I am not mistaken, I am pretty sure miranda rights must be read if questioning takes place?
 
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