What is the name of your state? Florida
I’ll try to make this as short , but detailed as possible...I just recently turned 21 ....and last night I was in the "common area" of an apartment complex drinking beer....It was myself and an 18 yr old girl. I had two beers in my immediate possession (i.e. immediately in front of me)...We were approached by a police officer. He quickly asked for both of our ID's. I furnished mine, (but she didn’t have hers) once he realized I was 21, - I claimed both beers as mine. In reality they were, but I knew he'd try to get her to admit possession (she tried to lie and say she was also 21 - BIG MISTAKE). He didn’t seem to care too much about the beer...he was more concerned about whether or not we were trespassing. He began to interrogate the girl I was with pretty heavily, ...and she wouldn’t stop talking, she kept digging the whole deeper....it was a really messed up situation...eventually he got so angered with her that he got the cuffs out in hopes of coercing a confession from her, he went so far as to use the "female booking procedures in the jail indicate that any contraband you have on your person...etc..etc."...so as to get her to admit if she had anything illegal on her without requiring PC for a search...pretty clever move I must admit....but to sum things up, eventually I talked to him one on one, ...he immediately let me leave....and eventually let her leave...(she called me later)......
...now here are my questions....
Is the burden of proof on the officer to prove that we each had possession off a beer?...or is it enough to see two beers, two people - case closed......does constructive possesion apply to a case like this?..
Is the charge "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" applicable in this case? (She’s 18)....as he threatened to arrest me with that charge many times throughout the conversation...but ultimately did not
"Contributing to the delinquency of a minor" is a misdemeanor correct?....he claimed it was a felony..
Thank you for all the responses....I really do appreciate the insight and answers to my questions.
I’ll try to make this as short , but detailed as possible...I just recently turned 21 ....and last night I was in the "common area" of an apartment complex drinking beer....It was myself and an 18 yr old girl. I had two beers in my immediate possession (i.e. immediately in front of me)...We were approached by a police officer. He quickly asked for both of our ID's. I furnished mine, (but she didn’t have hers) once he realized I was 21, - I claimed both beers as mine. In reality they were, but I knew he'd try to get her to admit possession (she tried to lie and say she was also 21 - BIG MISTAKE). He didn’t seem to care too much about the beer...he was more concerned about whether or not we were trespassing. He began to interrogate the girl I was with pretty heavily, ...and she wouldn’t stop talking, she kept digging the whole deeper....it was a really messed up situation...eventually he got so angered with her that he got the cuffs out in hopes of coercing a confession from her, he went so far as to use the "female booking procedures in the jail indicate that any contraband you have on your person...etc..etc."...so as to get her to admit if she had anything illegal on her without requiring PC for a search...pretty clever move I must admit....but to sum things up, eventually I talked to him one on one, ...he immediately let me leave....and eventually let her leave...(she called me later)......
...now here are my questions....
Is the burden of proof on the officer to prove that we each had possession off a beer?...or is it enough to see two beers, two people - case closed......does constructive possesion apply to a case like this?..
Is the charge "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" applicable in this case? (She’s 18)....as he threatened to arrest me with that charge many times throughout the conversation...but ultimately did not
"Contributing to the delinquency of a minor" is a misdemeanor correct?....he claimed it was a felony..
Thank you for all the responses....I really do appreciate the insight and answers to my questions.