Admitting to an officer i smoked marijuana

[bmxtrav4448]

What is the name of your state? MA

so this is a little bit of a unique situation which some of you may or may not be able to help me since i was on university property (which is like its own country with its own democracies). so i am a student at a college where i went outside and smoked a small joint outside my dorm, and we noticed a campus police officer creeping in the woods across the street, so we nonchalantly put the last of the joint on the ground a smothered it beyond recognition. we noticed the police officer started toward so we just went inside, but not making it look obvious of what we were doing. 10 minutes later i hear a knock on my door with a couple other officers and an RA looking for me (because they could check who last scanned into my building) and they asked if i was smoking pot outside after he said my eyes looked a little glossy, so i admitted to him i was smoking, and then i gave him and the other officers the names of my friends i was doing it with. so they went over there and asked if they were smoking and they said yes as well and then searched his room and found nothing. the next day we were written up and the penalties are loss of on campus housing which none of us can afford. so now i have to schedule a hearing which the director of student affairs. my original thought was you cant get in trouble if you dont have any pot on you or in your possession. my write up says specifically; " the report states that you were in possession of and used marijuana on campus." but we are sure the officer did not find the joint or any pot on us, the only evidence he has is that we just said we were smoking outside. any help would be very much appreciated!

thanks!

 

[You Are Guilty]

So how did you manage to smoke something that wasn't in your possession? Really long lips?



(I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll be saying it again... potheads are funny).

 

[fairisfair]

So how did you manage to smoke something that wasn't in your possession? Really long lips?



(I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll be saying it again... potheads are funny).

wouldn't having it in your mouth constitute possession?? no matter how long your lips are ??

 

[mike_lee]

You screwed the pooch on that one. Here's a clearer example. "I told my wife I slept with her sister now she wants a divorce - the evidence is his confession.

Best bet now is doublespeak which is an awful lot like lying. It works for presidents why not you. Lie and deny.(you misunderstood the question, it my be private police but your fifth amendment right to not incriminate yourself is in force and you were duped into a confession. That kindo.
thing

 

[Ultranothing]

You Are Guilty (who obviously is set on auto-convict) was so busy being smarter than everyone else that he failed to understand what bmxtrav4448 was trying to explain - or, should I say, what he succeeded at clearly explaining to those who would take the time to absorb the information.

BMXTrav4448, here is a less sarcastic, more thought-out, not so smart-assed answer.


Bmxtrav4448 was smoking a marijuana cigarette with his friends outside. He then saw what he determined to be campus security lurking in the bushes nearby, and "put the last of the joint on the ground a[nd] smothered it beyond recognition." (Perhaps you remember this quote from the original post?). This action resulted in the "joint" essentially no longer existing.

So he is correct in that he (allegedly) did not have in his possession any marijuana, as the evidence of possession was destroyed before the authorities could confiscate it and use it as proof against him.

The statement he received from campus officials states "specifically", that "you were in possession of and used marijuana on campus." but he is "sure the officer did not find the joint or any pot on us, the only evidence he has is that we just said we were smoking outside."

Even though you may not have had any physical evidence of the "crime" in your possession, you freely admitted to not one, but several members of campus security, that indeed you were using an illegal substance on school grounds. You even went so far as to give the officers the names and addresses of those with whom you were smoking the joint.

First of all, why would you do that? Didn't that defeat the purpose of destroying the evidence? Since they would have had no physical proof - and for that matter, since you were outside they wouldn't have even smelled it - you could have just denied having smoked any pot, and they would be legally obliged to leave you and your friends alone. Having red or glossy eyes doesn't automatically mean you're under the influence of something.

You've been up all night studying. You've got seasonal allergies. Your dog died and you've been crying....?

The only evidence they have is that you admitted to it.

Of course, unless you confessed in writing or they have you on video of some kind...what I'm trying to say is that perhaps it's still not too late to get out of it as long as your confession was verbal-only. Did you or your friends sign anything? Get together with them and dispute the charges. Go to the campus authorities and tell them that you were being harassed by campus security and they wrote you up for smoking marijuana, which is an absurd charge. File a complaint against the officers involved. Tell them that they were sneaking around the bushes nearby and disturbing you in some way.

Basically, do whatever you can to make yourselves appear concerned, angry, and most of all, innocent of these accusations. Get together, get your stories straight, and fight it.

 

[justalayman]

Hey YAG, there must be a pothead convention in town.


what you defenders haven;t noticed is the guy is not being criminally charged with anything. The school is taking administrative actions based upon what bmx told them. His admission is more than enough for the school to enforce their rules.



5th amend rights? sure, everybody has them. They also have the right to give them up. You might also want to research a bit as to when a person must be advised of their rights in regards to the investigation of a crime.

Now, I love this part:

Since they would have had no physical proof - and for that matter, since you were outside they wouldn't have even smelled it - you could have just denied having smoked any pot, and they would be legally obliged to leave you and your friends alone.

I just love it when all the potheads walk by you and think you cannot smell the pot on them. Not sure if the pot is dulling the olfactory senses or the mental faculties.

 

[bmxtrav4448]

i was with 2 campus police officers, 1 student campus police/security, and 1 RA which was writing down notes while i was talking to the officers. the reason why i told the police was because i was under the influence and also extraordinarily nervous since i have a very clean record (that and i have a hard time lying to people especially police officers) and dont deal with police that often


Ultranothing i really appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me and help me through this difficult time, im not a pothead, its just finals time and pot seems to ease the stress after a few stressful weeks.



we are recieving the report of the incident tomorrow sometime, so we will know exactly what the RA wrote down while i was talking (ill be back with what it says).

also the best story we can come up with so far is that we walked down the street and smoked marijuana down the street (off campus) then came back and smoked a cigarette in front of the dorm, and when the officer asked me if i were smoking pot outside, i told him that i was and we say that because we were all confused about the question and nervous. i dunno if that counts as anything, but is it true campus police officers (even though the campus police officers are state troopers) only have jurisdiction on campus? does this sound like a working story(although it is technically lying)? ultranothing if you could help me again, or anyone else following this can help me, would be saving my education.

 

[Ultranothing]

Either way, BMX, the same basic rules apply, as does the advice I gave you earlier. It's worth a shot, and one can only assume that the laws of your little campus-democracy can't be entirely different from the laws of the country in which it's located.

Layman, how do you know what the potheads are thinking when they walk by you? Are they singing the "I hope that dude can't smell the pot on me!" song? And how do you know if they were indoors or out when they smoked the pot? Because it is rather difficult for an odor to linger on a person or object when there's nothing to stagnate the particles, ie. while outdoors.

 

[justalayman]

Doesn't sound like you need any help. Ultranothing seems like he knows it all. Just listen to him.

I really like that "as long as it was verbal only". Ya, that means nobody (including the minimum of 3 people that did hear it including two whom are state police troopers whose word is accepted quite well in courts concerning accuracy and honesty) heard it so you can simply claim you never said it.

Ya, ultranothing's advice will get you off. Stick with that.

 

[Ultranothing]

Are you going to allow the system to take anyones word over yours? According to Layman, you've got nothing and a state trooper can essentially say whatever he wants. Is that fair? Have you no rights because a man with a badge has a louder voice than yours? Not in MY country, pal.

BMX, you have a very clean record, don't deal with the police often, are successful academically and socially, I assume? Why should what you have to say be any less important than anyone else of solid character and integrity or carry less weight, especially when there isn't a shred of physical evidence against you?

Stop thinking of all the ways of telling them how, when, and where you smoked the joint.

YOU DIDN"T SMOKE POT That's all you and anyone else needs to know.

 

[Some Random Guy]

By the way, Ultranothing, this is a legal advice site. Your instructions on "how to lie in court and hearings effectively" doesn't really fit in.

 

[Ultranothing]

He's right - just be honest and let them put a stranglehold on your future because you smoked a joint.

 

[justalayman]

Are you going to allow the system to take anyones word over yours? According to Layman, you've got nothing and a state trooper can essentially say whatever he wants. Is that fair? Have you no rights because a man with a badge has a louder voice than yours? Not in MY country, pal.

I gues you must not live in the USA. A policemans testimony is accepted over a defendents due to the fact the police are not considered to be an interested party where the defendent obviously has an interest in the outcome of a trial. That is just the way it is.

BMX, you have a very clean record, don't deal with the police often, are successful academically and socially, I assume? Why should what you have to say be any less important than anyone else of solid character and integrity or carry less weight, especially when there isn't a shred of physical evidence against you?

It isn;t that he has an integrity problem but he defintately is concerned with the result. It makes anything he says suspect. Physical evidence? They have the officers testimony that he was smoking (observation) and your belief that it cannot be smelled wen outside is simply stupid. Depending on the weather, it may blow away immmediately or it may linger for minutes or longer. If there is a cheltered area, it could hang around for a long time.

YOU DIDN"T SMOKE POT

Yes he did and he already told the police that. Now, do you eant to get this kid in troule with obstruction of justice? Not answering is ok but but lying is an act that can get you charged with obstruction.

As I stated before, what bmx is going through is an administrative hearing. It is NOT a criminal prosecution and the school can give whatever weight they want to the officers word or the bmx's. The cat is already out of the bag. You are going to get scratched up if youtry to stuff it back in now.

 

[>Charlotte<]

Originally Ragged On by justalayman
since you were outside they wouldn't have even smelled it

Don't make fun of that! It's my favorite part!

 

[mike_lee]

By the way, Ultranothing, this is a legal advice site. Your instructions on "how to lie in court and hearings effectively" doesn't really fit in.

You sure about that? False witness is one thing. A more favorable version of the facts is another.