Underage Drinking Citation

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania
Hi, I'm seeking advice regarding an underage drinking citation I recieved this weekend. Myself and a few of my friends from Penn State went to see some friends that attend Lock Haven University. We were leaving a party and walking back to my friends place to sleep. A few of the people that were with us were being quite loud and one of them knocked over a trash can. This happened close to were we were going and a security guard outside of my friends apartment saw it happen and called the police on us. When we got the builiding the security guard told us to stay there and the police showed up in a matter of a few seconds. Out of the five of us two were from Penn State and we were the only ones that got citations. The cops let everyone go that attended Lock Haven. My friend got disorderly conduct because security guard said he saw him do something. He was over 21 so did not get an underage. The cop let go one kid from lock haven becuasse he was over 21. Other kid from Lock Haven was under 21, the cop breathalyzed him and he blew a .16 but the cop let him go. Then he breathalyzed me I blew a .18 and I was given a citation. The cop seemed to target the people who were from Penn State and this seems unfair to me. Also I don't know if this matters or not but the cop failed to write my social security number on the citation. Also I was the only one handcuffed by the cop right after I told him I was from State College and attended PSU and the security guard told the cop that I did not do anything and it was the other guys who were causing a disturbance. Are cops legally allowed to give out citations to some people and not to others? With the help of an attorney do you think I could get out of this citation?

Thanks

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by Skier17

A few of the people that were with us were being quite loud and one of them knocked over a trash can. This happened close to were we were going and a security guard outside of my friends apartment saw it happen and called the police on us.

That kind of activity is a good indicator of inebriation ... or idiocy. So the call to the police was certainly warranted.

My friend got disorderly conduct because security guard said he saw him do something.

I presume you contend he did NOT "do something"?

Then he breathalyzed me I blew a .18 and I was given a citation. The cop seemed to target the people who were from Penn State and this seems unfair to me.

It may "seem" unfair, but there may be other reasons why he let the others go without a citation. The officer certainly has no reason to explain his decision to you. You can ask the question in court, but it will likely have no relevance to your guilt or innocence.

Also I don't know if this matters or not but the cop failed to write my social security number on the citation.

Why would he? Especially since he cannot legally compel you to reveal that to him (well, we can't out here and I BELIEVE that stands nation wide) why should he bother to put your SSN on the cite?

Since an SSN cannot be readily traced through any government database, we do not use it as ID. Usually, we use state-issued licenses and ID cards.

Also I was the only one handcuffed by the cop right after I told him I was from State College and attended PSU and the security guard told the cop that I did not do anything and it was the other guys who were causing a disturbance.

Did you mean "un-handcuffed"? The officers can handcuff and unhandcuff based on the law and department policy. There is likely nothing wrong in that here.

Are cops legally allowed to give out citations to some people and not to others?

Yes. They have wide discretion. There could be any number of reasons why they did not cite others and they cited you.

Were you the loudest or most annoying one? Or, perhaps, you appeared the most inebriated? There could be any number of reasons you were selected to win a citation.

With the help of an attorney do you think I could get out of this citation?

Possibly. But, I don't see an easy fix. Chances are that with an attorney you might increase your chances of victory from 5% to 15%, but you will likely suffer some punishment for this.

After all, you were underage and had been drinking. If that is what the law says, then you are pretty much done.

- Carl

[Bravo8]

Carl, the SSN issue arises from the fact that our "non-traffic" citations have a spot for the SSN. You are of course correct that a person cannot be compelled to reveal their number, and it's intended purpose was never to be used for a national ID, so most of the time I don't bother asking for it - therefore I rarely write it on the citation.

Skier, the lack of the SSN will have no bearing on the validity of the citation as it is not a required item to be filled out. Plus, as Carl said, you cannot be forced to reveal it.

Other than that, I think Carl hit the nail on the head.