Drinking Ticket

[75thDeadMan]

What is the name of your state? North Carolina

Hey guys. I'm doing some research and I wanted to see if I could get some advice. The previous night I was at a party that was getting ready to get crashed. I had a few beers, but wasn't very drunk, but I was underage (19). We left the party with a sober DD but got pulled because apparently our taillight or something was out. There were four of us in the car, a sober DD who was 19, a drunk guy who was over 21, and then me plus a friend of mine, both 19. The cop asked if we had been drinking and I thought it was pretty obvious I was so I was honest and said I had. They gave me a breathalyser and I'm positive I blew over, but they didn't tell me what I blew and I didn't think to ask. I got a drinking citation, but they said the court date was optional and didn't write down what the fine was on my ticket. I sort of remember her saying something, but I can't really quite remember. I was completely honest and polite the whole time and the cop seemed to acknowledge that.

1. Since they didn't pull us over for suspected drinking, is that considered entrapment and could it get me out of the ticket?

2. Does anyone know about what the fine would cost (both for in and out of court settlement)? Also, any recommendations on how to proceed with it?

3. Does this affect my insurance or driving record in any way (keep in mind I was in the back seat)?

4. If there are any other questions that I'm not asking and should be, what is the Q&A to them?

Thanks in advance.

 

[FlyingRon]

A few beers even for someone of age, is far from "not being drunk". You need to fix your attitude. Even one beer for someone underage is too many in the eyes of the law.

Your statements that you had been drinking and the resulting PBT were perfectly valid and plenty of evidence to convict you.

1. No it is not entrapment. Do you have a clue what entrapment is? Entrapment is where the government uses some coercion to force you to do some criminal act that you would not be inclined to do otherwise. The cops didn't coerce you into drinking. Asking you questions and collecting evidence is INVESTIGATION and a major part of police work.

2. It took about 15 seconds of googling to find out the penalty is a class 3 misdemeanor with penalties of $200 and license suspension. There's no such thing as "out of court" settlement. There is a thing called diversion where you can do some community service and classes and avoid both the conviction.

3. Insurance no, but a conviction will result in your license being pulled.

You might want to talk to a lawyer. We are not lawyers here. You can probably start at www.legalaidnc.org