Underage Drinking dilema

[beezyb420]

Hello all,

So I am a 19 yr old and the ticket was issued in Urbana County, Illinois. There was a group of six of us walking down the sidewalk, making no scene or problems. Two officers come up behind us in a squad car and see that one of the males had an open container of beer in his hand. One officer calls him to the car, the other begins talking to us other 5 guys. One kid was completely beligerant. The question was asked person by person if we had been drinking. I replied that i might have had one or two beers. The officer took all of our i.d's and began writting city ordinance tickets. There was no PBT (breathalizer) given to any one in our group. The officer never did any field tests, never came close and smelled me, never proved I was drinking at that time. Even if I did say i drank two beers, he didnt ask what time it was at. For all he could have know (ticket issued at 11:30 pm) I could have drank those two beers at 10 a.m. After the officers asked if I knew the one kid (the really drunk one) I responded "no". The officers never gave the one guy help even though he had a rather large cut above his eyebrow, and simply said "Try making sure he gets home alright."

So the question is, do I have any grounds to try fighting this one? The ticket is a $300 city ordinance and the city where the courthouse is located is 35 minutes away. Can the officers legally issue me this citation and prove to a judge or a jury, beyond reasonable doubt, that a ticket for "Consumption Minor Alcohol" (as the officer wrote).

Thanks, your help would be appreciated

 

[Isis1]

Hello all,

So I am a 19 yr old and the ticket was issued in Urbana County, Illinois. There was a group of six of us walking down the sidewalk, making no scene or problems. Two officers come up behind us in a squad car and see that one of the males had an open container of beer in his hand. One officer calls him to the car, the other begins talking to us other 5 guys. One kid was completely beligerant. The question was asked person by person if we had been drinking. I replied that i might have had one or two beers. The officer took all of our i.d's and began writting city ordinance tickets. There was no PBT (breathalizer) given to any one in our group. The officer never did any field tests, never came close and smelled me, never proved I was drinking at that time. Even if I did say i drank two beers, he didnt ask what time it was at. For all he could have know (ticket issued at 11:30 pm) I could have drank those two beers at 10 a.m. After the officers asked if I knew the one kid (the really drunk one) I responded "no". The officers never gave the one guy help even though he had a rather large cut above his eyebrow, and simply said "Try making sure he gets home alright."

So the question is, do I have any grounds to try fighting this one? The ticket is a $300 city ordinance and the city where the courthouse is located is 35 minutes away. Can the officers legally issue me this citation and prove to a judge or a jury, beyond reasonable doubt, that a ticket for "Consumption Minor Alcohol" (as the officer wrote).

Thanks, your help would be appreciated

you are 19. the legal drinking age is 21. still. doesn't matter what time of day it was.

you admitted to drinking. that was proof. the police thank you for not wasting their time and GIVING them proof. nice.

case closed.

 

[beezyb420]

so you dont think there is any way to beat this case

 

[cbg]

Nothing springs to mind.

The best way to ensure that you do not have to face the legal consequences of your actions, is to ensure that all your actions are legal. You didn't do that. Sorry.

 

[Ohiogal]

What everyone else said -- you admitted to a crime. The other stuff doesn't matter.

 

[Isis1]

My son who is 17 was at a party and needed a swallow of something to drink to get down some food he had been eating. Someone standing beside him handed him their drink and he took a swallow realizing it had alcohol in it. My son does not drink; he has tried a drink before and doesn't like the taste of alcohol which he gets from me. Anyway, the cops busted up the party and told all underage kids to form two lines, one that had been drinking and one that had not. My son who has never encountered this before and being scared because he had a sip of something got in the line for those that had a drink. He received a ticket for minor in possession of alcohol which he was not in possession of plus all the kids’ underage there did not receive a ticket. Those that hung around until the cops left never got a ticket even those that were drinking and had admitted it to the cops. My son was never given a breathalyzer. What rights do I have? The cops told my son that he would lose any hope of a good college or scholarship funds. By the way this was in SC.

this is called hijacking. please open your own thread and post your question there.

thank you.

 

[pd1fan5]

Sorry haven't done this before, I removed my question.