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minor in possesion of alcoholic beverage, in michigan

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superkadoo

Guest
i was recently given a ticket for a minor in possesion of an alcoholic beverage. (in michigan) i have a previous ticket for the same offense that i beleive is off my record, but i'm not sure. the ticket was given to me specifically for having "a draft beer in cup", which is actually false. the cup i had in my hand was empty, in fact the only real evidence of me having any alcohol was that i admited that i had had a beer and a half previously at a party.

the police never gave me a breathaliser, didn't write me up for an open container, never actually asked me specifically how old i was; in fact the first question they asked was for my ID, and assumed my cup had beer in it because the two guys i was walking with both had beer in their cups. the only other questions he asked were how much we paid for the beer, how much we had to drink, and a question about where the party was that he obviously had no interest in because he didn't persue it for a specific location which we would have gladly given.
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
Well, you had an empty cup that had contained beer (so it looked like the cups with beer, had beer at the base of it and smelled like beer), AND you admitted that it was beer. That's probably all that is required.

If you had said you had just picked the cup off the ground and was looking for a place to throw it away, you might have a defense. As it is, you were a minor in possesion. And possession (in most cases) does NOT require consemption, so the mere control of the beer is sufficient. The fact that you had quaffed the last of it before he contacted you is also no defense.

When you go to court, explain to the judge that was the cup was empty when he got to you and see what the judge says. After he says, 'Guilty', be sure you have your checkbook handy. And because its a second offense the fines might be higher.

Good luck.

Carl
 
S

superkadoo

Guest
thanks for the quick response. the only problem is though is that my cup never actually contained beer. the other two guys did have beer in theirs, but the cops never actually even looked at their cups. anyway, is there any way to check if the old mip is still on my record before going in there? im sure i could work it to my advantage if it looked like i was on a clean slate during welcome week at a public university, or would it?
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Assume the old one IS on your record. Unless you received diversion or something, or, you were popped as a juvenile (under 18), chances are pretty good that they will know.

I can't say for sure what might be a benefit in MI courts. Out here, I don't know if they would buy the welcome week excuse. And if everyone else had beer in the same cups, and you admitted to having had beer, then I think you're still done. But, you never know.

Carl
 
S

superkadoo

Guest
with the first mip i had to take some classes and was put on a 1 year probation period. i got a letter in the mail saying it was gone off the record a few months ago, but i know that for example insurance comapanies can see speeding tickets 7 years after its gone, and im wondering if this is the same kind of thing. as of now im doing basically what you said and assuming its there, but i know when i got it the having a clean slate def helped me

anyway, the real question to you i guess would be if there are any laws as to actual procedure other than the obvious ones like no forceful interogation, etc, because it just seems to me like it was just terribly unprofessional and not very well done; esp. seeing as how he wrote me a ticket for something i didn't really have. not only that, but it just seems a bit ludachris to me to be writing up a guy who will be legal in 6 months who doesnt own a car on his way home early in the night; while people drunkenly stumble past us to drive elsewhere. if it wasn't for that fact i probably would just go pay for it, but knowing that i was basically zero threat just steams me, and also because it was slightly blatant that i'm not really being as much penalised as i'm paying for someone to walk around collecting trash on the side of a highway. meh. thanks mate
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Well, this is not the crime of the century. A MIP citation is about the same as a small traffic infraction. You don't want or need to spend a whole lot of time on them. When they get to court, the officer says what he saw and heard, the defendant says their piece and a judge makes a decision.

At least that's how it would work out here.

Unless MI law prohibits interrogations, the officer can talk to you all he wants. Unles soyu are in custody, Miranda rules wouldn't apply, and unless he threatened you to coerce a conviction (in such a way that an otherwise innocent person would also confess to the offense) then I think you're going to have a hard time beating it.

The key questions will involve why you were carrying the same cup as everyone else if you had not been drinking beer, and why you would admit to it if you had not been drinking beer? The fact that others might be intoxicated all around you certainly does not make your violation any less true.

And the "threat" is not the issue ... its the fact that people who are under 21 cannot be permitted to drink. If this was just ignored, the problem would become a big one. The fact that it is probably not a big problem says a lot for the success of the enforcement.

Carl
 

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