Quick question about being arrested?

[BBc16]

One month from my 21st B-day and I get arrested for minor in consuption of alcohol, or at least thats what the cop said. I was under the legal limit for someone 21 but my state has no tolerance for a minor so i get in trouble. I also passed the field sobrity test. The question I have is that my copy of my charges they gave me says minor in possesion of alcohol, but the cop didnt find any alcohol. So does that mean charges will have to be dropped.

Thanks BBc16

 

[JJScorpio]

Were you given a breath test? How did they determine you had been drinking?

 

[S_a_H]

I would contest it... if you passed and no liquor was found what did he use to determine you were under the influence ?

SaH

 

[plumberjohn420]

if it was in your system then you possesed it i would think. cops gotta prove that to a judge. not too hard to do realy. might cost you more to fight it than to have it continued without a finding for 6 mo, and dont get in any trouble and it will go bye bye. otherwise you might pay a small fine depending where you live, and have it removed from your record later.

 

[Safari]

I believe he said he was tested, but came in under the legal limit for someone over 21, which he is not.

Did you get a court date or fine or what?

 

[BBc16]

First he said he could smell alcohol and that was enough to arrest a minor in my state. Then I had to follow his pen with my eyes..passed. Then I got the breathlyzer and blew under the legal limit for being drunk..but once again I am a minor so it didnt matter. Then he gave me the field sobrity test of walking a straight line...passed that. Then he said well since it shows you had been drinking your under arrest and that was it no miranda rights where read or anything.

 

[Safari]

Did they take you down town and book you? If they did and you were never given your miranda rights, I think you might have a way out. You should ask a lawyer though.

 

[BBc16]

Yeah the cop was nice except for arresting me. He said if it was a month from now then he wouldnt be arresting and I would even be allowed to drive. I have court one week before my bday so guess we will see what happens. What do I do if I want a public defender?

 

[GoodbyeBlueSky]

your body is legally considered a container for alcohol... so it doesn't matter that you didn't have any on you... it was in you...

second, unless you were actually brought to the county lock up (which i'm sure they DIDN'T do) miranda rights don't come into effect... for the record, i was arrested, and held for 14 days, and was never read my miranda rights... it's a myth that that matters. it will only matter when a confession is forthcoming...

still it's not going to be a big deal... don't panic. slap on the wrist at worst...

 

[BBc16]

I was brought to lock up and held for a little over an hour and the cop had questioned me after he arrested me but they only held me because I had the money on me to bail out right away. And for some reason I had a warrant in another county that said no bail and to hold me, but I had the cop call them and he talked them out of that one and they just wanted $200 cash.

 

[GoodbyeBlueSky]

they actually imprisoned you for an MIP? are you sure that's all you did?

what state is this cause i've got more than 1 MIP in my life and i've never been jailed for it....

 

[BBc16]

I was brought to the jail but held in a holding cell. They took my shoes, belt, everything in my pockets and threw me into the holding cell. The cop said I had a warrant, called the other county to find out why, they said that it was from over a year ago for an mic and thats all they knew. They couldnt figure out why I had the no bail on it so thats why they agreed on the $200. But even after the warrant and he questioned me I still never got my rights read.

 

[I.M. Boggled]

Then I got the breathlyzer and blew under the legal limit for being drunk

If over 21. Bummer.

So does that mean charges will have to be dropped.

No, they possess evidence to convict with.
They may just dismiss it/ decline to prosecute since you were so close to legal age and are now "of age", depending on how they encountered you in the first place and how busy they are.
A small fine and court ordered alcoholism screening was my sons sentence to such a charge a while back.
He literally had a couple short beers 5 hours earlier and had been asleep most of that time and was the "designated driver" after the party on New Years Eve and they pulled him over at 3 A.M. and "zero tolerance of alcohol by a minor" being what it is, ticketed him.

I think the driving too darn fast didn't help either that night and got him noticed, or perhaps also it might have been the hose coming from the large keg of beer that snaked through the back pickup window that his roommates were still sucking on the nipple of...they both got themselves open container charges from the deal, they were old enough (but not enough to know better.)
Good luck and I hope it all just goes quietly away for you.
Be well.

IMB