underage possession of alcohol - please read, need advice

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

Kind of long, but I wanted to explain this accurately. Here's the story:
My daughter (age 18) gave a ride to her boyfriends sister and the sisters boyfriend. The boyfriend is 29 years old. She was bringing them to pick up a car. On the way, they stopped at a package store where the 29 year old purchased beer for the girlfriends father. He put the beer in the trunk. She then drove them to where they were picking up their car. She got out of the car and opened the trunk. The boyfriend picked up the beer and was going to bring it to his vehicle, they were then going to leave and my daughter was going to go home. The police pulled up and told him to put the beer down. They charged my daughter with being a minor in possession of alcohol. She explained to them that all she had done was give them a ride. The police told her that because he was not an immediate relative of hers, she could not drive him to the package store. They also explained that if HE had been driving the car, that also would have been okay. But because it was my daughter's car, she was driving, and she's 18, she cannot have alcohol in the car even if it belongs to a legal adult who is in the car with her. Again, the beer was in the trunk - unopened. The police watched them at the package store, and then followed them to the home where the other car was. They watched her open the trunk for the boyfriend, and they watched him pick up the beer to bring to his own car. They then stepped in and confiscated the beer and charged my daughter with her "crime." How can giving somebody a ride be a crime? If it was, why didn't they do something at the package store instead of watching, then following them to another location? I could understand if my daughter dropped off the sister and boyfriend, then drove away with the beer still in the car. But all she did was bring them to the store, then let them out of her car with their beer. The cops made him put the beer down, then they confiscated it. I'm confused. Did my daughter legally really do anything wrong? From what I understand, there's a chance she could lose her license. She has a job and starts college in September. She is not a trouble-maker and doesn't even drink. Advise? Opinions?

[mandy7181]

i dont see where she did anything wrong. I was 19 at the time my husband turned 21. He purchased the alcohol but I was in the car when he did so. The only way i know of, and i may be wrong, for a minor to be charged with underage possession of alcohol is to be in physical possession(in her hands) or if the container was open she could be charged with "minor driving with an open container" but that was not the case in your situation. I dont know the law in Massachussetts so you may want to contact your attorney. But I dont think she did anything wrong?




PS---You may want to use her friend and her friend's boyfriend as witnesses if it ever goes to court. It may help to win the case. But i would still contact a lawyer to be certain of your options.

Since writing that post I did a little bit of research. I spoke with a police officer from another town and he sent me information regarding the general laws of Massachusetts. What it comes down to is that the operator of a vehicle is responsible for the contents of the vehicle. Because the alcohol was in the vehicle, and she was operating the vehicle, then technically she is in possession. The only exception would be if there had been a parent or guardian with her.
The guy who bought the beer is going to go to court with her, as well as her boyfriends father (who the beer was for). The officer I spoke with thinks it will probably be continued without a finding (I think that's what he called it). He said if they explained what happened the judge would probably give her a length of time (say, 6 months) where if she got in no trouble during that time then the charges would be dismissed.
I still find the whole thing kind of stupid, and it still angers me. If the cops who stopped her were only trying to make her aware of the law, why didn't they do so right away - at the store, when they drove by twice and watched it happen. If they really thought the alcolhol was for her, wouldn't they have charged the other guy with providing alcohol to a minor? But they didn't. In short, she gave somebody a ride to the store to buy beer. She never touched the beer herself. The person who bought the beer took the beer with him when he left her vehicle. But the cops made him put it back so that they could confiscate it and charge her.
We don't have a court date yet. If you're interested, I'll post the outcome when it happens. Thanks again for your interest.

[mandy7181]

I do want to know what happens. But i see what they are saying about a driver being responsible for the contents of a vehicle. I hope everything goes well for you.