Caught Underage Drinking

[drewthesaltyboy]

So tonight I got busted with underage drinking in a parked car (that was turned off) in a lot outside a club. Turns out there were about a dozen undercover cops going around this lot busting teens like myself for drinking in their cars. This is nothing I have ever seen or heard of before from anyone I know personally.

To make a long story short, there were 4 of us in the car and I was not in the drivers seat. 3 of us were underage and one over. The alcohol consisted of a 40oz beer and 2 four lokos. It was just me and my one other friend that were drinking and I had just opened my beer when they busted us. So there was maybe 6 oz gone. The guy (my bf) that was over did not get charged because I accidentally made a remark saying that someone else bought them even though it was obvious he did.

I have just read up on the consequences of this but I would like to hear from anyone in Ohio, or anywhere else for that matter, that has experience/knowledge of the subject. I know my bf was charged with public intoxication before which is the same offense and he said it was dropped easily.

They took the open four loko and my beer and left us the other closed loko. They did not breathalyze me nor did they perform a sobriety test. They told us we were very cooperative and that we weren't going to be arrested. We weren't given any kind of citation but they did say we would receive info in the mail about a court date. That's it. Any input would be helpful. I'm just seeking some advice/reassurance right now. My bf said he would cover me on court costs and/or the fine. And to note, I've only been to court one other time for a speeding ticket that I pleaded no contest to and just paid.

 

[unloadonme]

Things are rather different in the UK, so I can't really say much other than what you've done seems pretty minor to me and a trivial use of the court's time. If I were you I wouldn't worry about it too much.

In the UK, you can drink legally at 18. The police will only bother you if you're "drunk and disorderly" in a public place or driving a car over the limit.

 

[jft245]

In my area the under aged drinkers are required to take a class about the dangers of drinking. If they complete the class and do not have any more charges of drinking while a minor, all charges are dropped and no fine is imposed. If it were a DUI then they are fined and loose their licence

 

[Alistair]

They do that a lot. I had a friend get busted the same way in the Warehouse district. She just got a ticket though, with I believe, a $180 dollar fine. I don't know why you're getting a court summons. That sounds kind of strange.

 

[palbert]

Not in position to comment except to say that was not a clever place to drink. Jesus, it's like you were asking to be nailed.

 

[drewthesaltyboy]

They do that a lot. I had a friend get busted the same way in the Warehouse district. She just got a ticket though, with I believe, a $180 dollar fine. I don't know why you're getting a court summons. That sounds kind of strange.

Racial profiling is the only explanation really. My friend and I that were charged were both black. My bf is puerto rican and the other kid is white.

Not in position to comment except to say that was not a clever place to drink. Jesus, it's like you were asking to be nailed.

You're not helpful at all. I'm asking for advice, not negative criticism. Every teen makes a dumb mistake at least one. F'ing loser.

 

[jensu846]

when i got my underage (long time ago) all I had to do was appear in court, say guilty, and I was on my way. Paid the fine of $80 before I left the courthouse and that was it, had to be a law abiding citizen for a year or face jail time. thats in SD. not sure what OH laws are. dont work yourself up into a frenzy over this, it is really no big deal. tons of teens go thru this. just be alittle more careful next time peace.

 

[G-Lexington]

You're not helpful at all. I'm asking for advice, not negative criticism. Every teen makes a dumb mistake at least one. F'ing loser.

So you planned ahead for it?

My advice is to stop acting like being a teen is a get-out-of-shit-free card. Man up, go to court, say "yeah, I did it and I shoudn't have", pay the fine, and start thinking some more about potential consequences of your actions.

Lex

 

[palbert]

.... Every teen makes a dumb mistake at least one. F'ing loser.

I take it that is self-criticism. I strongly commend G-Lexington's advice.

 

[BlondeCanadian]

I do not know OH laws but here a) the cops almost always turn their head i only know of one girl getting underage drinking charges and she got it because she was being rude to the cop and all she got was a ticket.. If they are saying your going to get info in the mail it seems a little strange.. sometimes cops will say something like that just to scare you when they do not care enough to do the paperwork but still want you to learn a lesson...

 

[oakpope]

I wonder why underage for drinking is below 21 in the States, but right of vote is 18. It seems strange that someone is deemed adult enough to decide what is better for his entire country, but deemed not adult enough to drink alcohol.

 

[blublud]

I'm not saying I agree that a law setting the drinking age is the solution, but, being from the time in the States where 18 was legal to drink, I remember the logic and followup to passing the law. A horrendous number of driving fatalities were seen, year after year, of teens driving while drunk. A post law enactment survey found that six figures of young lives have been saved since passing that law.

 

[rotary]

Racial profiling is the only explanation really. My friend and I that were charged were both black. My bf is puerto rican and the other kid is white

Really? You're gonna pull the race card? You'll probably get a summons, pay what the judge rules and don't drink in a public parking lot next time.

 

[looseliam]

Read the ticket carefully. You may have only received a municipal violation instead of a state one. Cities/villages will typically do this with alcohol and minor possession related incidents so they don't have to give the state any money from the fines. It usually amounts to just a fine. If you were charged with under-aged drinking, I would move for a dismissal as the officers, from what you said, collected no evidence that says you were drinking. Sure they can say there was open alcohol but if they didn't see you imbibe the alcohol or measure your blood alcohol content it's he-said-she-said and unlikely to lead to a conviction. If it was a possession of alcohol by a minor charge, I'd go into court well-dresses, be remorseful, pay the fine and go to whatever useless class the court orders.

 

[jjonn3]

We weren't given any kind of citation but they did say we would receive info in the mail about a court date. That's it.

They did not give you a ticket or citation? That seems weird... Did they have you sign a ticket or anything?

It seems if they expect you to show in court they would have had you sign a ticket and given you a copy of it.

A big part of the reason for this is to force you to talk to your parents about it.

Loki's advice about making sure there is no one in the drivers seat and the keys are not in the ignition is a good one.

Good luck!

 

[drewthesaltyboy]

Thank you for the feedback everyone.

Read the ticket carefully. You may have only received a municipal violation instead of a state one. Cities/villages will typically do this with alcohol and minor possession related incidents so they don't have to give the state any money from the fines. It usually amounts to just a fine. If you were charged with under-aged drinking, I would move for a dismissal as the officers, from what you said, collected no evidence that says you were drinking. Sure they can say there was open alcohol but if they didn't see you imbibe the alcohol or measure your blood alcohol content it's he-said-she-said and unlikely to lead to a conviction. If it was a possession of alcohol by a minor charge, I'd go into court well-dresses, be remorseful, pay the fine and go to whatever useless class the court orders.

The open container was at my feet when they spotted us. So, they really have noting against me I guess.. :/

They did not give you a ticket or citation? That seems weird... Did they have you sign a ticket or anything?

It seems if they expect you to show in court they would have had you sign a ticket and given you a copy of it.

A big part of the reason for this is to force you to talk to your parents about it.

Loki's advice about making sure there is no one in the drivers seat and the keys are not in the ignition is a good one.

Good luck!

Neither of us were given a ticket or citation. We didn't sign anything. They took our ID's, cell phone numbers and the open containers, but that was it. Like someone else said, maybe this was all just scare tactics to get me to not do it again. But thank you for the feedback!

 

[drewthesaltyboy]

Really? You're gonna pull the race card?

As a black person dealing with cops, you get racially profiled all the time. I have been pulled over for no reason multiple times and let go thankfully. It's not uncommon in the states, especially with where I live and the particular area we were in when it happened. Being white, I wouldn't expect you to understand. My mom is white and even she doesn't understand but it happens and it's just something we have to deal with.

 

[racer2438]

Maybe I missed something here, I believe you said that none of you resceived a citation of any kind.


Cuz where We come from and live in California close to LA, no ticket no court date, no court contact How can they send a court hearing notice if they don't have your name/add/DL #/ car info/ plate-reg. If none of you got tickets.


I believe that since you were cool and polite, that the officers just made a play on the whole court/citation deal just to make you guy's think about it for next time. But to get a citation one has to SIGN the ticket which now makes a papertrail of the offence, which has to go it's course. Ticket can't just disappear.

They can't just right your name down and turn it in to the courts and then they send out a notice to appear. They'd say were the citation of the offence in question, which in tern leads to the guide lines of the fine/jail time that turns in to a fine/probation.

So did I miss something.....

 

[backpacker]

I'm not saying I agree that a law setting the drinking age is the solution, but, being from the time in the States where 18 was legal to drink, I remember the logic and followup to passing the law. A horrendous number of driving fatalities were seen, year after year, of teens driving while drunk. A post law enactment survey found that six figures of young lives have been saved since passing that law.

That's a very simplistic analysis of a very complex issue. At the same as the drinking age was raised, the education about the dangers of drunk driving began. When the drinking age was 18, very few recognized the dangers of drunk driving. The term designated driver didn't exist. Cops would pull over drunk drivers for some traffic infraction and tell them to drive safely. I was in a car hit by a driver who had been drinking at a bar and ran a red light. The accident was minor as both cars almost stopped prior to colliding. The police wrote the drunk driver a ticket and he drove away. About the same time a friend of mine who was 17 drove off the road at a high rate of speed while drunk (wasted) and hit multiple street signs. He didn't even get a ticket because he gave the cop a "police courtesy card" from another cop. Second factor, cars and roads are far safer now than when the drinking age was raised. Non-alcohol deaths are way down during the same time period. Thirdly, illegal drug use exploded when the drinking age was raised and result in many impaired drivers. Bottom line, the current drinking age is a failed policy and should be changed.

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

That's a very simplistic analysis of a very complex issue.

Actually, it's pretty much on the mark. The age was raised because of accidents involving younger drivers, and some wanted to raise the age even higher. This has been an issue with a number of youth groups, especially military; they are sorta ticked because they are old enough to give their life for their country, but not old enough to buy alcohol.

Thirdly, illegal drug use exploded when the drinking age was raised and result in many impaired drivers.

Bad logic, this. The age was raised at the time that the War on Drugs was in full fervor; the two are otherwise unrelated. I'm not saying that there wasn't some in both camps, just that it was more coincidental timing than anything else. Outside of the usual "OMG! If alcohol is legal, drugs should be legal, too!" arguments, the two causes were usually kept separate.

Bottom line, the current drinking age is a failed policy and should be changed.

Yes; we need more dead kids! I know a lot of parents that would disagree about the policy is a failure. I appreciate that the kids have a different perspective, but that's not exactly unexpected. You know, kids wanting to do what they want to do, regardless of personal risk.

As for the ticketing in general: The general rule is that no ticket, no court date. Underage drinking is usually a "jaywalking" offense; only if it's an issue is it brought up, as the police usually have better things to do, and usually it's more effective to give a warning than to actually write a ticket. Although you were in a stupid place (next time do it at home (where the rules are different, as some places allow underage drinking in some situations) or somewhere away from the general populace, like a creek way off the beaten path.

RG