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Under 21, caught with two bottles of alcohol.

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smithdaddy09

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

I've got a few questions about a legal issue I'm having. This was my first offense.

Me and two other friends (19 and 16) were riding down the street around 1 A.M. on bikes. A squad car lit us up and two of us stopped. The other ran.

He was not caught, but me and my friend were arrested on the spot and taken into the station. I was questioned about some neighborhood related things, charged with possession of alcohol by a minor, and released 8 hours later. About a month later I went to my court date, plead guilty (stupid me), and was fined $1,000 and 40 hours of community service.

Question one: I know the police did not have the right to search or arrest me BEFORE my buddy ran, but did they AFTER?

Question two: If the answer to question one is yes, ignore this question. If I were to appeal the sentence I received, would the police taking me into custody without probable cause help any?

Question three: Would appealing the sentence be worth it without a lawyer?

Question four: Do arrests AFTER sentencing have any influence on an appeal?
 
Last edited:


sandyclaus

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

I've got a few questions about a legal issue I'm having. This was my first offense.

Me and two other friends (19 and 16) were riding down the street around 1 A.M. on bikes. A squad car lit us up and two of us stopped. The other ran.

He was not caught, but me and my friend were arrested on the spot and taken into the station. I was questioned about some neighborhood related things, charged with possession of alcohol by a minor, and released 8 hours later. About a month later I went to my court date, plead guilty (stupid me), and was fined $1,000 and 40 hours of community service.

Question one: I know the police did not have the right to search or arrest me BEFORE my buddy ran, but did they AFTER?

Question two: If the answer to question one is yes, ignore this question. If I were to appeal the sentence I received, would the police taking me into custody without probable cause help any?

Question three: Would appealing the sentence be worth it without a lawyer?

Question four: Do arrests AFTER sentencing have any influence on an appeal?
Your conviction cannot be appealed. You weren't found guilty at trial, you voluntarily admitted guilt and accepted the sentence that was given to you. There was no error of law, no misunderstanding by the trier of fact. If you had concerns with the search and custodial issues prior to pleading guilty, then you should have discussed those with your attorney - or WITH an attorney if you chose not to be represented by one.

Considering that the potential sentence for MIP in Illinois is up to 6 months in Jail and/or Fine of up to $1,500, I'd say you did pretty well.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
It all depends on what they can articulate as the cause for the stop and for the subsequent search or arrest. The fact that someone in the car fled the scene probably will help their cause.
However, you've not quite given enough information to make a determination one way or another. This is why lawyers are necessary. They can look at all the details in a dispassionate manner.

If you plead guilty, the game is almost certainly over at this point. NEVER, EVER plead guilty unless you have good counsel as to the implications of doing so.
You have near ZERO chance of any sort of appeal or sentence reduction without a lawyer. Subsequent misbehavior won't have any affect on appeal, but it certainly may screw any discretionary actions on sentencing a judge might have.

Frankly, a modest fine and community service is not likely going to be reduced.
 

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