Son arressted

[totalstress2222]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana
I got the dreaded call from a friend today that her son and mine had been arrested last night. My son still has not called. My son is 18, charged with OWI, illegal consumption, and possession of alcohol. The other boy is 20 and charged with illegal consumption, possession of marijuana, and a loaded pistol. Both I and the other parent chose to not bail them out, they go to court tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what they are looking at?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana
I got the dreaded call from a friend today that her son and mine had been arrested last night. My son still has not called. My son is 18, charged with OWI, illegal consumption, and possession of alcohol. The other boy is 20 and charged with illegal consumption, possession of marijuana, and a loaded pistol. Both I and the other parent chose to not bail them out, they go to court tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what they are looking at?

I can't really offer any answers, but I do want to congratulate you and the other parent for not bailing them out.

They have to stand up and deal with the consequences - kudos for you doing the right thing even though you're worried.

 

[justalayman]

sometimes leaving a kid in jail is a great learning experience but depending on the nature of the kid, it can also be very traumatic. Given there was a gun involved, I suspect it will not wreck the kids but due concern should be exercised here and considering bailing them out might be the best thing at some point.

but anyway, with that said;

they will have to be formally charged (arraigned) where they will be asked to enter a plea (they need to plead not guilty, even if they actually are guilty).

then bail will be set, if it hasn't already as well it maybe amended if the actual charges end up different than the initial charges. They will probably be asked if they intend on hiring a lawyer or if they wish to seek a public defender. If the ask for a PD they will be interviewed to determine if they qualify for a PD. If they qualify for a PD, one will be assigned to them. There may or may not be one present to step into the process. If not, then they go back to their cells and wait for a visit from their PD (which may not come. They may not see their PD until the next hearing). If there is a PD present to step in, not a lot else will actually happen as this hearing is simply to seek their plea, ensure bail is set, and establish their intentions for legal representation.

if nobody bails them out or they are not released on their own recignizance, they will simply set in their cells until each hearing comes about. They will be taken to appear and again returned to the jail afterwards.

 

[PaulMass]

I'd venture a guess is the 18 year old called someone who would bail him out.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana
I got the dreaded call from a friend today that her son and mine had been arrested last night. My son still has not called. My son is 18, charged with OWI, illegal consumption, and possession of alcohol. The other boy is 20 and charged with illegal consumption, possession of marijuana, and a loaded pistol. Both I and the other parent chose to not bail them out, they go to court tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what they are looking at?

I strongly recommend that your son contact an attorney for assistance in court. As justalayman recommended, your son should plead "not guilty" and, if he has already been to court today, I hope that is what he did. Many young adults will think it simpler and easier to plead guilty just to get it over with. That is a big mistake.

What your son is facing are several misdemeanor charges and, if convicted on any or all of the charges, the criminal record that will result will affect his school life and his employment life, with loss of financial aid and possible expulsion, and potential loss of employment opportunities. There is a mandatory driver license sanction, with loss of license for up to a year. He will find it hard to get loans and insurance or credit - or the rates will be high. He will find restrictions placed on travel outside the country. He can/will be denied entry into some countries like Canada.

In other words, if he can escape conviction on these charges, having an attorney will be his best chance to do this. Whether you want to help your son with the cost of hiring one, or whether you want to let a public defender represent him, is obviously up to you. Although public defenders are generally good attorneys, their case loads often limit the time they can spend on any one case. The investment in a private attorney is often smart, if you or your son can afford one.

It is of major concern to me that your son chose to drive not only while impaired but that he drove with someone who was drug-impaired and had a loaded gun. The combination of these extremely poor choices by these young men could have been fatal, not only to your son and his friend but to others. While I hope the judge in his case is very hard on him and his friend, I also hope your son has not completely handicapped his future due to the extremely poor decisions he made.

Here is a good source for you to check out on the alcohol laws in Indiana - click on the various links for more information on the various offenses: http://studentaffairs.iupui.edu/doc/health-wellness/counseling-psychology/and-laws.pdf

 

[totalstress2222]

Update and question

Neither of the boys were bailed out, they stayed in jail two days. After contacting the court to find out the exact charges they were OWI for marijuana he had not been drinking. When he went to court he took a plea agreement which he lost his license for 90 days, $860 in fines, drug/alcohol classes, and 64 hours of community service. He or I have never dealt with the courts and had no clue what he should do. Someone told him he should try and get a modification to get the OWI dropped to a lesser charge. Is that even possible after taking a plea? And yes I know marijuana was not a good judgement of his.

 

[LdiJ]

Neither of the boys were bailed out, they stayed in jail two days. After contacting the court to find out the exact charges they were OWI for marijuana he had not been drinking. When he went to court he took a plea agreement which he lost his license for 90 days, $860 in fines, drug/alcohol classes, and 64 hours of community service. He or I have never dealt with the courts and had no clue what he should do. Someone told him he should try and get a modification to get the OWI dropped to a lesser charge. Is that even possible after taking a plea? And yes I know marijuana was not a good judgement of his.

If the plea bargain has already been accepted by the courts (which it sounds like it has) its too late to do anything to change it. That is actually a pretty light sentence, particularly the only 90 day drivers license suspension. That tends to make me think that he was not actually driving when arrested. If that is the case, a private attorney rather than a public defender might have gotten it reduced further, but its likely too late now.

The best thing that you can do for him at this point is to make sure that everything he needs to do gets done this summer. He has to arrange his own community service and if you can help him find something that actually interests him it will help. If he likes animals doing community service at animal control can be a good option.

 

[quincy]

Neither of the boys were bailed out, they stayed in jail two days. After contacting the court to find out the exact charges they were OWI for marijuana he had not been drinking. When he went to court he took a plea agreement which he lost his license for 90 days, $860 in fines, drug/alcohol classes, and 64 hours of community service. He or I have never dealt with the courts and had no clue what he should do. Someone told him he should try and get a modification to get the OWI dropped to a lesser charge. Is that even possible after taking a plea? And yes I know marijuana was not a good judgement of his.

Although your son's charges appear to preclude the plea agreement being a deferral agreement, whereby the prosecutor withholds prosecution until all terms of the agreement (i.e, drug/alcohol classes, community services, fines paid) are satisfied, it could be a possibility.

If the plea agreement is a deferral, it would then be possible for your son's charges to be discharged and dismissed at the end of a probationary period.

All diversion and deferral agreements are filed with the court and are considered public documents. These documents, therefore, are ones you can access.

As a note: Indiana modified many of their laws with effective dates in 2015. Some of the mandatory driver license suspensions were removed from the laws.