Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication MIP santa barbara, ca

[jbob9er]

to whoever wants to reply,

im 20 years old. i was in santa barbara, Ca at a house party near the state university. on the weekends it is like madigras, the streets are filled with college students. anyways, i was leaving the house with two friends, which are 21 years old. the cops were waiting outside the property, i walked right into them. i was no where near a vehicle. he sat me down on the curb. i had been drinking. but the cup i held was empty, all but less than an ounce of beer. i was never given any tests. he wrote me down for 25662 B+P Minor is Poss Alcohol. ive never stood before a judge before. i still have to attend court. what i want to know is, am i at fault? and if i decide to plead not guilty, and the officer is there, then it will be his word against mine, and i will most likely lose. if i lose, will i be in even more trouble than if i just plead guilty?

also i hear you could possibly get your license taken away for a year by pleading guilty. im going to be moving to florida for school two months after my court date. are they still going to try to take my license and give me all this community service and what not?
thanks for your time.
-jason

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This is a tough one -- it seems that you did have possession of alcohol and the amount is irrelevant (statute below.) It is possible that you could deal with the prosecutor and you may wish to obtain representation. There is something called "deferred adjudication" where you might have the proceedings deferred without entering an adjudication of guilt and you are placed on probation for a period of usually not more than 6 months. If you present evidence that you complied, the judge may dismiss the MIP complaint. Note that the arrest may still appear on your record and you may wish to think about expungement later. I believe that with deferred adjudication, if there isn't a prearranged agreement you enter the court pleading no contest to the charges and the judge decides upon offering this option. I don't know your jurisdiction and best to speak to someone who knows, the court clerk or better yet an attorney. It seems you aren't familiar with this area so I'm guessing you have no priors, which could affect such an option.

25662. (a) Any person under the age of 21 years who has any alcoholic beverage in his or her possession on any street or highway or in any public place or in any place open to the public is guilty of a misdemeanor. This section does not apply to possession by a person under the age of 21 years making a delivery of an alcoholic beverage in pursuance of the order of his or her parent, responsible adult relative, or any other adult designated by the parent or legal guardian, or in pursuance of his or her employment. That person shall have a complete defense if he or she was following, in a timely manner, the reasonable instructions of his or her parent, legal guardian, responsible adult relative, or adult designee relating to disposition of the alcoholic beverage.

(b) Unless otherwise provided by law, where a peace officer has lawfully entered the premises, the peace officer may seize any alcoholic beverage in plain view that is in the possession of, or provided to, a person under the age of 21 years at social gatherings, when those gatherings are open to the public, 10 or more persons under the age of 21 years are participating, persons under the age of 21 years are consuming alcoholic beverages, and there is no supervision of the social gathering by a parent or guardian of one or more of the participants.

Originally posted by jbob9er
to whoever wants to reply,

im 20 years old. i was in santa barbara, Ca at a house party near the state university. on the weekends it is like madigras, the streets are filled with college students. anyways, i was leaving the house with two friends, which are 21 years old. the cops were waiting outside the property, i walked right into them. i was no where near a vehicle. he sat me down on the curb. i had been drinking. but the cup i held was empty, all but less than an ounce of beer. i was never given any tests. he wrote me down for 25662 B+P Minor is Poss Alcohol. ive never stood before a judge before. i still have to attend court. what i want to know is, am i at fault? and if i decide to plead not guilty, and the officer is there, then it will be his word against mine, and i will most likely lose. if i lose, will i be in even more trouble than if i just plead guilty?

also i hear you could possibly get your license taken away for a year by pleading guilty. im going to be moving to florida for school two months after my court date. are they still going to try to take my license and give me all this community service and what not?
thanks for your time.
-jason