I'm not sure if this is the correct section to post this, if it's not, please move it where it belongs.
What is the name of your state?
I am a Pennsylvania resident currently attending school at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE, where the offense occurred.
I was walking down the street, on the sidewalk, near my university (the University of Delaware, the offense occurred off-campus) stupidly carrying a beer bottle with me. So naturally, an undercover Newark police officer approaches me, and asks me how old I am and if I have ID. I initially told him that I was 21 and had no ID, he looked like just a random guy coming up to me which is why I didn't initially comply. He patted me down and told me to remove my wallet from my cargo pocket; he also took my cell phone which I don't know why... He then walked me over to his undercover cruiser (which thankfully had a full back seat with other unfortunate college kids, or else I think I might have found myself sitting back there too) took my fingerprints, and gave me 2 citations. One was for underage consumption, and I can't read the 2nd one totally but I see "yuengling beer bottle" in the offense box, so I assume also one for possession of an open container. This all happened on september 15, and my court date is set for october 8th, this coming monday.
This is my first offense requiring me to go to court; my only other official charge ever was a speeding ticket (although the officer actually wrote me up for something which was a lesser fine than speeding), I paid the $145 or something and never heard anything else; this happened in Pennsylvania.
Considering that I received 2 "State of Delaware Criminal Complaint and Summons" slips each with a different offense, will this affect the odds of me being eligible for probation before judgment? I spoke with a friend of mine whose father is lawyer in DE and he told me basically it's up to the judge, is this true? He told me that if I'm lucky, one of the charges may be dropped and I will get PBJ for the other. I'm more worried about a possible criminal record here than just paying the fine for each offense.
Also, just now after looking at the citations again, I see that my incorrect phone number is listed; but my social security number and address and everything else are correct. Would it be worth calling the court to inform them of this or can I just tell the clerk on monday before my hearing?
And one final thing. My 21st birthday is 10 days after my court date (court on 10-8, my b-day on 10-18). Will this, coupled with the fact that it's my first offense (well...offenses) benefit me at all when I'm actually standing there in front of a judge?
What is the name of your state?
I am a Pennsylvania resident currently attending school at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE, where the offense occurred.
I was walking down the street, on the sidewalk, near my university (the University of Delaware, the offense occurred off-campus) stupidly carrying a beer bottle with me. So naturally, an undercover Newark police officer approaches me, and asks me how old I am and if I have ID. I initially told him that I was 21 and had no ID, he looked like just a random guy coming up to me which is why I didn't initially comply. He patted me down and told me to remove my wallet from my cargo pocket; he also took my cell phone which I don't know why... He then walked me over to his undercover cruiser (which thankfully had a full back seat with other unfortunate college kids, or else I think I might have found myself sitting back there too) took my fingerprints, and gave me 2 citations. One was for underage consumption, and I can't read the 2nd one totally but I see "yuengling beer bottle" in the offense box, so I assume also one for possession of an open container. This all happened on september 15, and my court date is set for october 8th, this coming monday.
This is my first offense requiring me to go to court; my only other official charge ever was a speeding ticket (although the officer actually wrote me up for something which was a lesser fine than speeding), I paid the $145 or something and never heard anything else; this happened in Pennsylvania.
Considering that I received 2 "State of Delaware Criminal Complaint and Summons" slips each with a different offense, will this affect the odds of me being eligible for probation before judgment? I spoke with a friend of mine whose father is lawyer in DE and he told me basically it's up to the judge, is this true? He told me that if I'm lucky, one of the charges may be dropped and I will get PBJ for the other. I'm more worried about a possible criminal record here than just paying the fine for each offense.
Also, just now after looking at the citations again, I see that my incorrect phone number is listed; but my social security number and address and everything else are correct. Would it be worth calling the court to inform them of this or can I just tell the clerk on monday before my hearing?
And one final thing. My 21st birthday is 10 days after my court date (court on 10-8, my b-day on 10-18). Will this, coupled with the fact that it's my first offense (well...offenses) benefit me at all when I'm actually standing there in front of a judge?
Last edited:
