Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Underage Possession of Alcohol w/no probable cause

[Nothingspecial]

I live in Northern Virginia, and was riding in a car with a friend (I was the passenger), on a nearby college campus when we were suddenly pulled over by a campus police. For the record these police are in reality VA State Troopers that work for the University. The officer asked the driver why she pulled us over and the driver asked if it was because of an incomplete stop. The officer told her that it was because we were driving too fast (real technical). This meant to me that she had no radar indication of speed. She then proceeded to give the driver (who had had nothing to drink) a full-on sobriety test, which she passed with triple 0's. Then the officer asked about the "smell" oof alcohol and I told her that we were at a party and that someone spilled beer on my leg but that I had'nt had any myself. I also told this to another officer who had stopped to see what was going on and then left. So the officer told me to step out of the car and asked me if i had any alcohol. I told her "I had some spilled on me--" then she cut me off and almost shoved the breathalyzer in my mouth. She said that I blew a .05. I am 20 years old, so she gave me a citation for underage possession of alcohol. There are several problems I have with this experience. 1)I was never read any rights of any kind. 2)I never admitted that I had a drink, just some spilled on me. 3)There was no reason for us to be pulled over. 4)It was obvious that this was a clear cut case of quota filling as there were many more police cars around that night than most any others. 5) The officer stopped us AGAIN a quarter mile down the road to ask where I lived and that was all(rather strange). I would appreciate any input on the matter as well as any advice.

 

[Nothingspecial]

Thanks for the help....

Thanks for all the help(Sarc.)....i thought this would be a good way to get a little casual advice, but evidently not.

 

[KellyEdgar]

Sorry for your bad luck, but to be honest it doesn't really seem like you have a case. All the officer needed to stop you is the visual observation that you may have been speeding. Although you may have only had alcohol spilled on you, all the officer needed was to have reason to give you a breathalyzer. Your rights do not get read to you unless you are being arrested, and even though the officer may have been just "filling his/her quota" - that is their job - that is what they get paid for. i know its "not fair", and it really really sucks - I hope everything turns out okay for you.

 

[refusetostop]

Well casual advice is if you are under age where people are drinking don't go out with it on your clothes. The mere smell of an alcoholic beverage is enough to write the citation. The fact that you blew .05 adds to the case. The officer does not need radar or laser to stop you for speeding, he can use his patrol vehicle to pace a vehicle, and in residential or school areas it is very easy to tell when a vehicle is traveling over the posted speed limit, and the officer can stop you for it even if he decides not to write a citation for it. I also find that when most people think officers are trying to fill a quota what is really happening is that citizens have complained about an area and a team of officers that normally no not patrol a certain area will be sent there on certain days when the citizens state that there is more of a disturbance and try to reduce or get rid of the problem. For all you know the problem could have been that a lot of underage people go out drinking and then drive in that area.