when can i be detained

[mrwabba]

What is the name of your state? OREGON

story is im under 21 and was walking home from a party around 3am i was walking down on the side of a street with no sidewalk to my house when a cop pulls into a parking lot just in front of me. he then got out of the car and asked to identify myself. the 1st thing i asked was "am i being detained" and a 2nd cop who pulled up just after the 1st said "yes, yes you are" i asked why and he said "because you look under the age of 18" so i had to stay and ended up with an MIP but was wondering if this was legal grounds for detaining someone?

 

[Some Random Guy]

By itself, being under the age of 18 is not legal grounds to be arrested.

However, if there was a curfew in effect for your city, then it would be grounds.
Also, if the police believed you to be intoxicated and under the legal drinking age, then yes, that would be grounds.

In oregon, you are usually not required to identify yourself. However, based on your statements, you were not arrested for that.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

An officer only needs reasonable suspicion that someone has or is about to commit a crime in order to detain them. The fact that they thought you looked under 18 leads me to believe they initially stopped you for a curfew violation since you were out at 3am. As long as the officer can articulate specific facts to justify this suspicion, than the detention sounds good.

 

[mrwabba]

wouldnt this be age discrimination though? say i was 30 years old but looked like i was 15 shouldnt i have just as much of a right to wonder around at 3am as any other 30 year old without being bothered? dumb example i know but i was being detained on suspsion of a crime that im not able to comit due to the fact that i am over 18. if im able to be detained by my looks then wouldnt that mean an officer could stop someone driving that looks under the age of 15. and i will add in that the cops had no idea that i had been drinking till after i had been talking to them.

 

[The Occultist]

It is NOT age discrimination. It is the way the laws are written, which I believe includes the phrase "...a reasonable personal...", which signifies that if a reasonable person would assume a certain age, that it is alright for the police to do so as well.

I have a friend who runs a gas station, and he has to deal with potential liability of accidentally selling to minors all the time. Even if they are age 50 but somehow look under the age of 30, and they don't have valid ID on them, he is LEGALLY NOT allowed to sell to the person, and the law will fully back him up. Sucks, don't it.

 

[The Occultist]

and i will add in that the cops had no idea that i had been drinking till after i had been talking to them.

Haha whatever you say, buddy.

Firstly, as has been pointed out, if you're wandering about in the middle of the night and you look too young, they have every right to stop you to check if you're old enough to be out. Yes, even if it's a 30 year old that looks 15. Sucks for him.

Secondly, my guess is the officers did indeed suspect with full confidence that you were inebriated before they pulled over to detain you.

 

[mrwabba]

Haha whatever you say, buddy.

Firstly, as has been pointed out, if you're wandering about in the middle of the night and you look too young, they have every right to stop you to check if you're old enough to be out. Yes, even if it's a 30 year old that looks 15. Sucks for him.

Secondly, my guess is the officers did indeed suspect with full confidence that you were inebriated before they pulled over to detain you.

the 1st few things they asked were were more towards being under 18 and out so late and never said anything about drinking. i had the great idea to give them my brothers age and name but somewhat stumbled on it and they could sense i was lying. then once i admited to giving the wrong info the searched me and saw i was 19 but caught on as to why i was saying i was older. kind of funny i asked on of the officers if they would let me walk home had i been 21 and he said "we would have got you for something" i hate living in a low crime area where cops will stop anyone walking down the street late at night.

 

[The Occultist]

the 1st few things they asked were were more towards being under 18 and out so late and never said anything about drinking. i had the great idea to give them my brothers age and name but somewhat stumbled on it and they could sense i was lying. then once i admited to giving the wrong info the searched me and saw i was 19 but caught on as to why i was saying i was older. kind of funny i asked on of the officers if they would let me walk home had i been 21 and he said "we would have got you for something" i hate living in a low crime area where cops will stop anyone walking down the street late at night.

Either way, they lawfully detained you (the court will surely uphold this if you were to try and fight it), and thus legally and correctly served you with that MIP.

 

[quincy]

I think maybe you live in a "low crime" area because the police will stop anyone walking the streets late at night.

 

[mrwabba]

I think maybe you live in a "low crime" area because the police will stop anyone walking the streets late at night.

its one of the more expensive places in the area i think that has a lot to do with it.

i have a question about if i take this to court though how great is the burden of proof with a mip? and there was a total of 4 witnesses all 4 being cops would they all need to be present?

 

[The Occultist]

An officer is considered an unbiased witness for the state (it's not as if the officer is going to get a bonus because he busted an extra kid with MIP, ya know?). The officer's sworn testimony has rarely (as far as I know: never, but I'm covering my ass here ) been insufficient in an MIP conviction.