Maine Minor in Possesion. Need Advice

[Mistakemade27]

Hello everybody. Last night I made a mistake. I am from Maine and currently attend college. I had about 6oz of a 25 oz beer, and then made the decision to go with some friends to a party down the street. I brought no alcohol with me. When we arrived the cops were already outside and asked for our ID's. I gave them mine and I am 19 years old. They asked if I had been drinking and I said no. They asked if I wanted to take a breathalyzer test and I said yes because I thought a refusal would be worse. I ended up blowing a 0.014 and was given a summons for minor underage Possesion by consumption. I believe it is 28A SS 2051 of Maine Law. I want to know if I am better off going to the DA or hiring legal counsel. I want this charge to be dismissed. I have a lot of other circumstances where this would not look good on my record. This is my only illegal thing I have. Not even a speeding ticket before. What would be my best next step? I don't have a lot of money but I could make something work of need be, depending on the cost. Thank you everybody.

 

[HighwayMan]

I want this charge to be dismissed.

You're not asking for a lot, are you?

I have a lot of other circumstances where this would not look good on my record.

Well you should have thought of that BEFORE you started drinking, eh?

Why don't you check out a few attorneys to find out what it will cost you - then you can decide if you can afford to hire one.

 

[quincy]

Hello everybody. Last night I made a mistake. I am from Maine and currently attend college. I had about 6oz of a 25 oz beer, and then made the decision to go with some friends to a party down the street. I brought no alcohol with me. When we arrived the cops were already outside and asked for our ID's. I gave them mine and I am 19 years old. They asked if I had been drinking and I said no. They asked if I wanted to take a breathalyzer test and I said yes because I thought a refusal would be worse. I ended up blowing a 0.014 and was given a summons for minor underage Possesion by consumption. I believe it is 28A SS 2051 of Maine Law. I want to know if I am better off going to the DA or hiring legal counsel. I want this charge to be dismissed. I have a lot of other circumstances where this would not look good on my record. This is my only illegal thing I have. Not even a speeding ticket before. What would be my best next step? I don't have a lot of money but I could make something work of need be, depending on the cost. Thank you everybody.

Here is a link to the laws in Maine on underage drinking: http://legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/28-A/title28-Asec2051.html

Because this is your first offense, there is a good chance that you will be ordered by the court to commit to a certain number of community service hours and nothing more. You might be able to escape having to pay fines, in other words.

This is IF the possession by consumption violation cannot be dismissed entirely.

Because it is possible for the possession by consumption charge to be dismissed entirely (based on the fact that you told the police you were not drinking and based on the 0.014 test), I recommend you speak with an attorney in your area. The attorney can speak to the DA, which is often more effective than you speaking to the DA on your own.

As a note: Forcing a pedestrian to take a breathalyzer test is considered a search. Without a warrant (or a legal excuse for not obtaining one), the police cannot make a pedestrian comply with a request to submit to a test. You could have refused.