Underage Drinking-- Cop threatened Arrest if I didn't plea to something I didn't do..

[normalillegal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ILLINOIS

Okay so I understand you guys probably get these a lot and they get quite annoying. However, my situation seems to be a bit more unique (I believe).

I am 20 years old (irrelevant, yes, but quite more responsible than those drinking who are much yonger) living on a college campus in IL. I was at a party, literally just showing up about 10-15 minutes before cops showed up, and decided they were going to issue everyone tickets. Of course, other people at this party were very drunk, I arrived late and had not a single drop of alcohol in my system.

Other people who were interviewed and ticketed before me were being quite inconsiderate to the cops, saying they didn't have to talk, saying they didn't have to take field sobriety tests, etc.. You could imagine the cops were quite impatient by the time they got to me, to them I was a stuck-up college student. I didn't have I.D. present, so he was eager enough to claim that I was lying right off the bat, decided to search me for my wallet, also claimed that the Halloween prop I had in my hands was potentially a lethal REAL weapon (clearly made of plastic) and scolded at me for having it in my possession while talking to him as I was literally going to set it down. At this point, I am just getting verbally beat down by a cop for virtually nothing.

The cop interviewed me, asking me my information and if I had anything to drink, telling me if I decided to try to lie and say I had nothing, I was going to jail in handcuffs. He said I had ONE chance to tell it right. At this point in the night, I had nothing to drink--and was highly in fear of being arrested. I have never been arrested in my entire life, I have never committed a crime, never have been even put in handcuffs.

My future depends on me having a clearly untarnished record (Drinking tickets are ordinance violations and go away turning 21, so those do not scare me as much but they are terrible to have either way), but I do not know the record tarnishing consequences of being put in handcuffs and booked into a jail cell. I decided to simply to not try to fight it because I was afraid of the consequences, and said I had something to drink. Normally I would stand up for myself, but clearly seeing 3 kids sitting in handcuffs on the ground in the hallway was enough to frighten me into not trying to do anything but say I had alcohol in my system because the cops around here... aren't the most considerable ones since they deal with some college students who are quite uneasy on the ears and have attitudes.

Now, my question is, is this any sort of entrapment, any sort of illegal threat? I was told I was going to jail if I said I was having nothing to drink, and clearly I was not. They didn't decide to breathalyze me or offer to do so, I was literally told if I don't say how much I had, I was getting put in cuffs right away. I didn't want to start confrontation with the police in any way possible, so I avoided doing anything except what they said.

Do I have anything that I can say on my court date that can potentially exempt me from this ticket, or appeal to the judge? That the cop was badgering me telling me I had a single chance to tell him HOW much I had to drink, as opposed to if I had to drink anything--otherwise I was going to jail in handcuffs?

I know this sounds ridiculous and some people may feel "Suck it up and pay the ticket," but this is $375 that is not easy for me to just raise and unjust in my opinion.

Any type of advice would help,

Thanks.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[CdwJava]

First, if you were n a place where there were underage people drinking and you had ready access to the alcohol as well, then you can be charged with underage possession, or, MIP (minor in possession).

Second, since you had no ID on you he could have taken you in to custody in order to either ascertain your ID or to take you before a magistrate for arraignment (depending on the laws in your state with regards to no ID). Either way, no ID means no release with a ticket if the officer wants it to mean that.

Now, it is not "entrapment" pursuant to any legal definition, but you can certainly go to court and argue that you lied to the officer because you felt coerced. However, I would not try to make that case without the aid of an attorney. It is a reasonable defense, but it is not one you can easily make on your own.

- Carl