Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Open Container without evidence

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kinchestime

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I attended a birthday party at a house in Evanston, IL. I had arranged for cab to pick me up at 12:45 AM, and I walked out the front door of the house around 12:43 AM holding a red plastic cup containing pink lemonade. I spoke to the driver of a cab parked directly in front of the house and discovered that he was not my driver. I walked back into the house to find my friend who was supposed to accompany me in the taxi. While I was in the house, another friend of mine, who was wearing a bright green shirt similar to mine and standing on the porch in front of the house, was approached by Northwestern University police officers. They asked for his ID and had him stand up against the police car. I could not find my friend that was taking the taxi with me inside the house, and I attempted to leave out the front door to check outside. I was told to go out the back door because the police were in the front. On my way out, I put my then empty cup in the garbage. I walked into the backyard and then proceeded around the side of the house to search for my friend and catch the taxi. As I reached the sidewalk, an officer approached me and asked for my ID. I have contacted three witnesses who saw me without the red cup at this point. I gave the officer my driver's license, and I was told to stand next to the police car with my hands on the hood. My other friend was next to me with his hands on the hood, and he was given his ID back and let go. The police officer and his supervisor began to ask me questions about the contents of the cup, which they never saw. I told them specifically that it contained pink lemonade. I was in sitting in the back seat of the police car when I was handed a ticket for "holding a red hefty cup containing Keystone beer (Amber in color with white foam on top), an alcoholic beverage.'' The next sentence read, "The respondent is under the age of 21 yrs, in violation of Evanston City ordinance." I repeated that I did not have beer in my cup, and I was told to tell it to the judge. I have a mandatory hearing scheduled, and I don't know what I should do. I have a clean record. I really don't want to pay the minimum $500 dollar fine and potentially lose my license. I also do not want to get in more trouble; I am unsure if the ticket is for underage drinking and open container, or just open container. If I try to fight it, can I get additional charges thrown on? Is filing a police department complaint an option? I would greatly appreciate any advice you can offer.
 
It was a violation of Evanston city code 3-5-14. I would post a link for you, but I haven't made enough posts yet. I am 19 years old.
 
I would fight it. I see a problem aside from the obvious that you have witnesses that you didn't have a cup in your hand. The description on the ticket is ludicrous. Red Hefty cups are opaque. You might be able to see foam on top but you sure would not see an "amber liquid" inside unless you took it and poured it out. A good questioning of the officer on the stand and the witnesses you have should defeat that charge. A lawyer will cost you though. Did they do an alcohol test? Did they indicate that they smelled alcohol on your breath? If they did they could put you in possession because you drank. Moose will tell you more about that since he knows the laws of your state.

They will not put more charges on you for fighting this one.
 
3-5-14: AGE RESTRICTIONS; IDENTIFICATION CARDS:

(A)Any person to whom the sale, gift or delivery of alcoholic liquor is prohibited because of age shall not purchase, or accept a gift of alcoholic liquor or have alcoholic liquor in his possession. (Ord. 45-0-04)
No person shall purchase, accept delivery or have possession of alcoholic liquor in violation of this section. Whoever violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). (Ord. 110-0-05)

Your ticket is for simple possession. Per the code, beer is included as "alcoholic liquor.
It seems that you will need those witnesses to speak up on your behalf. If the police didn't do any other kind of evaluation to determine if you were under the influence, or make any notes about smelling alcoholic beverages, then you should be able to beat it.
Make that argument given above as well... if the drink was in a red cup, the description they gave is just silly... and how would they know it was Keystone?

I think you might luck out of this and just get a warning from the judge. $500 is pretty steep, and without some other kind of serious violation to go along with this I don't see a reason that you would get nailed on this one..... but I'm not the judge either.
 
They didn't do any kind of alcohol test. There is no mention on the ticket that they smelled alcohol. I was asked if I had been drinking, and at the badgering of the officer ("Come on, I'm not stupid...I'm not stupid), I did mention that I had been drinking before, as in before the party, but I did not give a specific time. I spoke to my aunt, who is a lawyer, and she believed the fact that they asked me if I had been drinking could help in court (because they claimed I was in possession of an open container), although she was not sure about the consequences of admitting I had drank that day. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would imagine that I could have told them I smoked crack cocaine before, and I could not get in trouble unless they had proof. Even if this is true, I completely understand that a judge will see it differently... An ambulance was called because of "liability issues." I was asked questions (where do I live, who is my roommate), all of which I answered, my blood pressure was taken, and I was allowed to sign a release.
 
You did not tell them "where" had been drinking so they can't write you up for drinking there. I would not even joke about admitting to smoking crack. If you admit to smoking and where you smoked you can be charged with possession.

I would take your aunt with you to court. She is sharp and absolutely correct. If a cop was writing me a ticket for "having an open container of alcohol" and still felt the necessity to ask me if "I had been drinking" I would definitely bring that out in court. That's just silly.
 
I would certainly never joke about that with an officer. Unfortunately, my aunt lives out of state. I take it I should get a lawyer for court? What exactly would define "where"? If I had mentioned it was in a house, could I be written up for that at this point?
 
If they did not write you up already, they wont. Where means in which jurisdiction. I would take an attorney and you should beat it.
 
Alright, thank you all so much! I really appreciate all this help. Is filing a complaint with the school police department a viable option? Also, in general and with regards to this case, can I be written up or get in trouble after the fact for something not on the ticket? For instance, although it does not say they smelled alcohol on my breath on the ticket, can they say this in court?
 
No, they won't add anything.
If your case is really as ridiculous as you make it seem here, there is the possibility that a well placed complaint with the agency could put the whole matter to rest. This is assuming that everything you have said is true and not deliberately skewed to your favor.
All you have is a charge of underage possession of alcohol. Given the circumstances, any officer that shows up to court is going to be embarrassed if you are prepared with the right questions.
 
Money wise, I would certainly prefer not to go court. I imagine I will already be receiving a hefty ambulance bill soon. If I file this as a complaint, can they take any action to spite me, such as throw on an underage drinking violation? I have spoken to other students who received alcohol-related tickets, and the officers do not always show up to court or the charges are quickly dropped. If my complaint does not resolve this issue, I'd assume the officer will definitely appear at the hearing. I have forwarded my case to the legal clinic at the Northwestern law school, so for now I am going to wait and see what they have to say.
 
As to the question of the obvious, if you were seen holding a cup and then asked if you had been drinking, that is common practice. When we arrest drunks, we often ask obvious questions, such as, "Have you been drinking tonight?" And in the standard DUI protocol, that is one of the questions asked as well.

It is not uncommon to ask someone about the drink they are holding. Sometimes you get some great and further incriminating answers. If I ask, "Is that your beer?" and the kid says, "No," then he has also potentially acknowledged that he is, in fact, holding a beer - thus, he has knowledge. If you get that "no" response, it will usually be folowed with an absurd lie such as, "I found it," or, with an indication of just whose beer he was holding. this could incriminate someone else for possession/consumption, or even providing a minor with alcohol.

I could go on, but asking the obvious sometimes helps cement the suspicion.

So, to me, the issue of the officer asking the obvious is not going to be all that suspicious as it is done frequently in my experience.
 
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