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Only underage 5 months from 21'st b-day and one beer

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BradN

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? South Dakota

I got an underage consumption yesterday b/c I was stupid and had a beer in my hand when a cop drove by. I blew a .028. A grad student that was a teacher of mine in college said that he was in the same situation just short of his 21'st b-day as well and that everyone else lawyered up and ended up with underages while he spoke on his behalf and got out of it by arguing that the stigma of an underage on his record would prevent him from teaching. I was planning on just arguing my case with the judge that it was only one beer and I'm close to my 21'st birthday and that its a relatively petty crime to ruin my clean record over and make it harder to get a job. If I do this will I have to plead not guilty and get a court date or could I just say "I will plead guilty but could I say a few words on my behalf?" something like that. or would that just be automatic punishment b/c I said I would plead guilty? I really don't want to plead not guilty and then get a later court date and go through all that crap b/c I'm obviously guilty.
 


Happy Trails

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? South Dakota

I got an underage consumption yesterday b/c I was stupid and had a beer in my hand when a cop drove by. I blew a .028. A grad student that was a teacher of mine in college said that he was in the same situation just short of his 21'st b-day as well and that everyone else lawyered up and ended up with underages while he spoke on his behalf and got out of it by arguing that the stigma of an underage on his record would prevent him from teaching. I was planning on just arguing my case with the judge that it was only one beer and I'm close to my 21'st birthday and that its a relatively petty crime to ruin my clean record over and make it harder to get a job. If I do this will I have to plead not guilty and get a court date or could I just say "I will plead guilty but could I say a few words on my behalf?" something like that. or would that just be automatic punishment b/c I said I would plead guilty? I really don't want to plead not guilty and then get a later court date and go through all that crap b/c I'm obviously guilty.

Exactly, you are obviously guilty.

Your statement as to only being 5 months away from being legal age is irrelevant.

Consult with an attorney in your area, he/she would be best equipped to know how to handle this charge.
 

BradN

Junior Member
The officer that gave me the ticket said that the court system takes into account how old you are and how close you are to your 21'st birthday so it is relevant.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The officer that gave me the ticket said that the court system takes into account how old you are and how close you are to your 21'st birthday so it is relevant.
It's not relevant to the charge.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
The officer that gave me the ticket said that the court system takes into account how old you are and how close you are to your 21'st birthday so it is relevant.
if it was so relevent, then he should have taken it into consideration at the time and not ticketed you, but he did ticket you, didn;t he?

you need to talk to the prosecuters office, or hire an attorney for you, to find out if there is a deferred adjudication program available to you.

unless you are very small, the beer in your hand was not the first beer you had that night either, not with a .028 BAC anyway.
 

BradN

Junior Member
Maybe not to the guilty or not guilty but probably to the severity of the punishment. you cant tell me a judge is not going to be more lenient on someone thats 20 as someone thats 16 or 17. I told the officer that I took the beer from home... can they go after my parents or b/c I'm 20 their not liable for me?
 

BradN

Junior Member
.028 is barely anything and you cant say that its more than one beer b/c theres so many factors to it such as body size, tolerance to alcohol as well as how much food is in your stomach.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
.028 is barely anything and you cant say that its more than one beer b/c theres so many factors to it such as body size, tolerance to alcohol as well as how much food is in your stomach.
sorry, the only factors that actually affect BAC are time, quantity, and weight and sex of the person drinking.

Tolerance has nothing to do with BAC and food only slows absorption. It will not change ultimate BAC.

BTW; it is a ticketable offense in most states to drive with a .02 BAC (impaired driving).

My point is that unless you are a really small person, .028 means you consumed more than one beer.

check out this site to see:http://www.moderation.org/bac/bac-men.shtml#1hour

the fact you had an .028 would indicate unless you were under 100 lbs, you had more than one beer. Physics can be fun.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
can they go after my parents or b/c I'm 20 their not liable for me?
Possibly. It would depend on how you obtained the beer. If the parents knowingly supplied you, then yes, they could be charged with a few things. If you stole the beer, then it would tend to keep them out of it.
 

BradN

Junior Member
my parents were out of town and i just took a few from the refrigerator, I just don't want this to come back on them. My mistake not theirs. and would would the fact that I had finished only a few minutes before he gave me a breath breathalyser make it seem like more or less alcohol in my system?
 
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What were you charged with exactly?

If you have not been arraigned yet, I would go to the arraignment and plead NOT GUILTY.
Then find a decent attorney who specializes in this type of matter and ask his/her advice.

I would at least find out my options before pleading guilty to any type of crime.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Your parents probably have nothing to worry about. No guarantees but if nobody was injured, I doubt they would chase this any further than the ticket you already have.

Unless you are very light (like 100 lbs or less) and you had sucked down a complete beer in the last 1/2 hour or so before the test, the reading you got is not going to happen. Yes, drinking it quickly and checking as your BAC peaks will show a high reading, comparitively.

Don;t forget, you originally stated you had a beer in your hand, so if you had just finished a beer a few minutes prior to the test, that would mean you were on your second, at least.

You don;t need to convince me of anything though, I don;t count.

I would look to a deferred adjudication if your state has that available. That would be your best bet in getting out of this with minimal damage. Either contact an attorney (preferrable if you can afford one) or possibly the DA's office if no attorney. It is good to know before you actually go into court if something like Deferred Adjudication is available to you.

Just so you don;t think I am a total ass, one of my daughters got caught and ticketed for MIP when she was in college. It was just before semester break. She was given a deferred adjudication program and had to go back to the county of concern to attend class. I actually drove the 150 or so miles to go with her and waited for her to go to class and had a picnic lunch waiting for her when she had lunch break.

It is not a life ending ordeal. Just learn from it.
 

BradN

Junior Member
I had just finished the beer seconds before he pulled up and was going to be a good citizen and throw it away at the next garbage can so the can was empty when he got to me. With the deferred adjudication, can I just ask the judge myself when she asks me how I plea instead of going through the whole ordeal of pleading not guilty and getting a court date? from listening to my friends that had minors I'm looking at around a $65 fine as well as getting my license suspended for 30 days and possibly alcohol classes but not likely. Besides it being on the record I'd rather just pay the fine and be over with it b/c court isn't anything fun and hiring an attorney isn't cheap either. Would it be possible to just call the DA's office beforehand and just explain my case and ask if it would be possible just to have a probation period where if I don't get into trouble again they'll just drop the charges?
 

BradN

Junior Member
heres something els as well, on this website for a south dakota news paper application this is a question. "Have you ever pled guilty or "no contest" to a crime, been convicted of a crime, had adjudication withheld or prosecution deferred?
Yes No" Would this only apply to a felony? an underage is just a class c misdemeanor isn't it?
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
heres something els as well, on this website for a south dakota news paper application this is a question. "Have you ever pled guilty or "no contest" to a crime, been convicted of a crime, had adjudication withheld or prosecution deferred?
Yes No" Would this only apply to a felony? an underage is just a class c misdemeanor isn't it?
Does the form ask about a FELONY? If it does, then you can answer "no". (If this is your only offense).
But...the form doesn't ask about a FELONY, does it? :rolleyes:
 

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