Hey everyone,
Heres the story...bare with me please. I go to a small college in WV. Last night, there was apparently some vandalism going on in the dorms. My friends and i happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was around 12:40a.m., we were in a stairwell saying our goodbyes when an RA came down the stairs and told us to stay there. She told another RA to call campus police. Everyone but my roommate and I took off and got away. We patiently waited for the officer to arrive.
When he got there, it was quickly established that we had nothing to do with the vandalism. The officer then tells us that we smell like marijuana. He proceeds to give us the follow my finger with your eyes only test (yes, thats a technical term). He didnt tell us how we did at this point.
Next, he started asking us if he could search our room, eventually we told him ok. He brought the dog into our room and found nothing but some rollling papers which he tried to tell me was paraphanaleia. At this point, another officer arrives. The second officer took my roommates hat around a corner and placed it in the middle of a hall out of our view. The first officer lead the dog directly to the hat repeating "find it, find it." We were not told what the dog did nor could we see what she did. The officers asked us to follow them to the station.
Once we got to the station, the officer started asking if he could search my car. I initially said no because i know my rights. He started telling me that he would have my car towed and would get a search warrant because he had enough evidence against me. I figured this was BS, but to avoid the hassle i told him to go right ahead. To his dismay, he found nothing.
Now, he began writing public intoxication citations for my roommate and I. We questioned why he was doing this and he said because we smelled like marijuana and failed the eye test. I asked how we failed and he told me "your um eyes didnt uh respond." They also at this point told us that the dog hit on my roommates hat.
I would like to plea not guilty because i don't think he has evidence to say we were intoxicated in public, however, i realize that it would be our word against his in court. I would like to know what defines public intoxication, and in your opinion, does the officer have a good case? Also, if i plea guilty, what would be the penalty? Is smell alone enough to say that someone is under the influence of marijuana?
Thank YOU!
Heres the story...bare with me please. I go to a small college in WV. Last night, there was apparently some vandalism going on in the dorms. My friends and i happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was around 12:40a.m., we were in a stairwell saying our goodbyes when an RA came down the stairs and told us to stay there. She told another RA to call campus police. Everyone but my roommate and I took off and got away. We patiently waited for the officer to arrive.
When he got there, it was quickly established that we had nothing to do with the vandalism. The officer then tells us that we smell like marijuana. He proceeds to give us the follow my finger with your eyes only test (yes, thats a technical term). He didnt tell us how we did at this point.
Next, he started asking us if he could search our room, eventually we told him ok. He brought the dog into our room and found nothing but some rollling papers which he tried to tell me was paraphanaleia. At this point, another officer arrives. The second officer took my roommates hat around a corner and placed it in the middle of a hall out of our view. The first officer lead the dog directly to the hat repeating "find it, find it." We were not told what the dog did nor could we see what she did. The officers asked us to follow them to the station.
Once we got to the station, the officer started asking if he could search my car. I initially said no because i know my rights. He started telling me that he would have my car towed and would get a search warrant because he had enough evidence against me. I figured this was BS, but to avoid the hassle i told him to go right ahead. To his dismay, he found nothing.
Now, he began writing public intoxication citations for my roommate and I. We questioned why he was doing this and he said because we smelled like marijuana and failed the eye test. I asked how we failed and he told me "your um eyes didnt uh respond." They also at this point told us that the dog hit on my roommates hat.
I would like to plea not guilty because i don't think he has evidence to say we were intoxicated in public, however, i realize that it would be our word against his in court. I would like to know what defines public intoxication, and in your opinion, does the officer have a good case? Also, if i plea guilty, what would be the penalty? Is smell alone enough to say that someone is under the influence of marijuana?
Thank YOU!
