Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Minor in Possession

Status
Not open for further replies.

jfleming

New Member
I need advice....

I along with two other people, one girl, one guy, pulled into my college parking lot, with two bottles of alcohol, new and unopened in the back seat of the car in a brown grocery bag. We got out and were deciding whether or not to bring it in, while passing it back and forth and then deciding to go to our dorm rooms and get a back pack and come back to bring the alcohol up. About 15 feet from my car 3 cop cars swarmed us and told us to stay right there. They then asked what we were doing and responded with "running some errands". They then looked into may car and saw a brown grocery bag, and asked abou it. I said it was my stuff. After much dispute we admitted we were at the liquor store and had 2 bottles of vodka. The three of us were givin MIP tickets and issued court dates.
My fried admitted to buying the alcohol without a fake ID. One of the cops took him in his car back to the store to identify the seller. Not one of us was drinking or had a fake ID on us.

What are my rights here? Also, do the cops have the right to do that? I need help
 
This isn't so clear or so easy. Apparently the bottles were found in your car, which was empty at the time you were confronted. It would seem that you possessed the alcohol by keeping it in your custody in your car. It may not matter that your friend bought it. Your friends might have a better argument claiming that they didn't possess the alcohol since you did. If your friend admitted that it was his then he might have a problem since he admitted that he was an MIP.

I'm not sure that the police did anything wrong. They had a right to take a plain view look into your car from outside the window and ask about the bag. Best would probably have been to do nothing after you said that you went to the grocery store. You volunteered the information, probably after feeling intimidated. Good police officers know how to "accuse" suspects and make them feel guilty enough to confess or feel the need to explain a situation so that they won't appear to have done anything wrong. There is nothing wrong with that and it is your option to say that you don't care to discuss your trip to the grocery store.

The key to remember is that an MIP just means that in order to violate the ordinance you need possession of the controlled substance. This does not mean that you are not guilty because you weren't drinking or possess a fake ID, which are also seperate offenses in most states. An argument that is effective in many cases is that you didn't possess the substance -- but that may be difficult here. Many end up in a plea bargain situation. I can't say that you should plea bargain and an attorney who reviews the entire case and is familiar with local law might be able to provide a defense but from what I see this might not be the simplest case -- but as reported here there have been many such offenses dismissed for various reasons. Let us know how things turn out and good luck.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top