Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication pleaded not guilty for MIP, what can i do now?

[laura1989]

Hello, i got an Minor in possession of alcohol in Chico, CA over Halloween weekend. It was because I was holding a gatorade bottle of "vodka" when the party I was at got broken up. I pleaded not guilty at trial, even though it was just an infraction, because getting my license taken away is going to be a HUGE problem for me. Now I do not have a public defender and my court date is coming up in about 3 weeks, and I am starting to get worried.
My questions are:

1) If i change my mind and decide to plead guilty, can i do that at the beginning of the trial and not go through with fighting it?

2) If i said that i did not know that the bottle i was holding contained alcohol, is that a legitimate argument? (I am pretty sure they sell clear gatorade)

3)If that does not work, is it reasonable/possible to ask the judge for classes or any other possible options to get the case dismissed?

4) ANY other tips/ advice for fighting this and not getting convicted of this MIP?

Any information would help so much. thank you!

 

[cyjeff]

1) If i change my mind and decide to plead guilty, can i do that at the beginning of the trial and not go through with fighting it?

Sure. But sentencing for the crime you plead guilty to will then begin. In other words, the moment you say, "I'm guilty", the trial is over.

2) If i said that i did not know that the bottle i was holding contained alcohol, is that a legitimate argument? (I am pretty sure they sell clear gatorade)

Ah, the "I didn't know I was holding vodka in my own hand" argument.

You can try it. It might be fun.

3)If that does not work, is it reasonable/possible to ask the judge for classes or any other possible options to get the case dismissed?

Not to get the case dismissed.... you are asking for the wrong thing.

You are looking for a deferment or an expungement at the end of sentence. I strongly recommend the services of an attorney.

4) ANY other tips/ advice for fighting this and not getting convicted of this MIP?

Honestly, you are going to have a hard time proving you were not in possession of the bottle in your hand.

 

[mightymoose]

If anything, you should be asking the prosecution for evidence that you were in possession of alcohol. Did they collect it? How did they identify it? What was the percentage of alcohol in the contents of the bottle?
Since your beverage was not in a clearly marked alcoholic beverage container the police officers that took the report should have made a decent effort in their reports to describe how they identified the alcohol and accounted for what happened to it.
If the report simply says something to the effect of "the contents were determined to be alcohol" and the contents were dumped on the street, then you can jump all over them about proving what the contents were.

That said, the argument probably wouldn't get you too far because every police officer "from their training and experience" knows the scent of an alcoholic beverage and a simple statement like that will probably seal the deal. They certainly aren't expected to send vodka to the lab for analysis.

It's a better argument than the ones you are scheming on though.