MIP in San Diego, CA !!HELP!!

About a month ago, there was a large festival at UCSD campus (notorious for alcohol), and a good portion of my friends were drinking in an apartment. I havent drank any alcohol in a while and decided to stay sober to look after them, however on the way out of the apartment, one of my friends asks me to hold a bottle of gatorade mixed with some vodka. Almost immediately, one of my friends and i were pulled to the side by an undercover cop. He asked what was inside, i told him that it wasnt mine so I wasn't sure but i told him there was some type of alcohol in it. The cop was actually very polite, and respectful (found out he was from the same highschool as i was), I was clearly sober and the cop acknowledged the fact, but still issued a MIP 25662(a) for possession. He told me that this was not a misdemeanor but an infraction although im not exactly sure what this means.

now, I'm 20 years old and at that time 7 months from 21 (kinda sucks =\ ), gonna be 5 months at the time of trial. I have not received any felonies, misdemeanors, nor infractions in the past, not even driving tickets.

I've read some of the other threads in this forum and the penalty seems to be $250 in fines as well as possible license suspension. I'm quite worried about the suspension of the license, and I'm wondering is there any possible way that the judge would not issue a license suspension (maybe he was feeling nice that day or something x_x)? or if getting an attorney would be beneficial to my case at all?

Thanks alot for the help, I really appreciate it!

Couple of things:

1) It's an MIP, which isn't going to be a life altering offense. It's going to cost you some $$, but should have any long term effects assuming you avoid future trouble with alcohol.

2) I'd be surprised if it had any effect on your license. I don't know much about MIP laws or the state you live in, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of a license suspension coming from a non-driving related offense. I have seen judges order alcohol classes for an MIP offense.

3) You said the word "trial", which I think was just the wrong word, because I hope you're not trying to take this before a jury or anything. You'll almost certainly lose.

4) A lawyer is always a good idea, although there doesn't seem to be much to dispute in this case. Sounds like you were guilty of being in possession. I don't think you can really reduce an MIP to a lesser offense. Not sure what the attorney would do.

Pay the fine, take the course if they make you and then stay away from alcohol till you're 21 (and then don't even think about drinking and driving... DUI makes an MIP look like a walk in the park).