Minor Caught With Alcohol While Tailgating

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Missouri. However, I live in Kansas!

Long story short. I was with about 8 friends at a local Royals game here in Missouri (where Kauffman stadium is). We should up early to tailgate. We set up a grill, and had hotdogs going when we mixed 6 beers into a container with some lemonade concentrate. We all had red cups drinking our beer-mixture when we were approached by a man saying he was an undercover cop from the XYZ police department. We immediately all froze, all being 18 that is.

He repeated himself, twisting his belt, and revealing his handgun at his side, and said "I'm not going to ask again, let me see your ID's."

Everyone except two girls were required to take a breathalyzer (they somehow got out of the charges despite consuming). The highest number blown was a .027, which was myself (sorry for being a lightweight). Other BAC's included .008, .001, and .019. As you can tell, no one was near legally intoxicated, and we barely had any beer-mixture left. After a 3 hour baseball game, everyone would have no doubt been 100% sober.

The group of undercover cops proceeded to take our ID's, scan them, ask us some basic info (phone number, height, weight, social security number) then starting printing tickets... As well as making us pour out our mix (when the cop said "That's damn good stuff!" as he smelled it pouring it out). The printer actually broke before it got to the last two of us, but the cop made it clear to us they would show up in the mail shortly. The cop told everyone that we were all receiving tickets for a minor in possession (MIP), and we'd be required to show up in court and pay a small fine.

What the cop didn't know is we are all exceptional students, and a number of us have full ride/ partial ride scholarships to big name schools. My friends and I are extremely concerned that we may have jeopardized our five figure scholarships, as well as sending our parents car insurance through the roof... And I know you might say "you should have thought about that before you were drinking!", but in my defense, we never had the intention of getting drunk, we just enjoy a nice beer every now and again, and I'm fairly certain someone near us in the massive parking lot must have spotted our beer and called it in because we weren't doing anything obnoxious, loud, belligerent, basically anything to draw attention to us. Just my luck I suppose.

Is there any way to have the MIP off my record? I've heard of paying double the fine, alcohol classes, community service, and diversion are all ways of having the charge expunged, but I don't know if any of it is true. And I'll mention it again, but we were all caught in Missouri, but we all live in Kansas, if that makes a difference. We are just concerned with losing scholarships, sending insurance through the roof, and missing out on future jobs because of having a "record", being a criminal offender... Uhh, its just scary to think about.

Thanks a ton for the help.

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What the cop didn't know is we are all exceptional students, and a number of us have full ride/ partial ride scholarships to big name schools.

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Why do you think that should make a difference? It's not the cop's job to care about your scholarships, it's yours.

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And I know you might say "you should have thought about that before you were drinking!", but in my defense, we never had the intention of getting drunk,

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Whether your intent to get drunk or not is completely irrelevant. In the United States, it is illegal to consume alcohol if you're under the age of 21, with exceptions being made for religious observances (frex, communion), and in some states you may consume alcohol if your parents physically hand it to you and remain physically present while you consume (frex, Ohio. My sons have wine with dinner every night, but when we head up to MI to the winery we all volunteer in, they can't have a drop because MI says "NO, NEVER, and we'll arrest your Mama if she gives it to you.")

There are no loopholes for "not intending to get drunk". Road to hell, good intentions, blah blah blah. The magic number is 21, bb, unless you meet the exceptions noted above.

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Is there any way to have the MIP off my record?

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Maybe. Retain counsel and see what sort of diversion programs you might qualify for.

As for your scholarship, the charges alone could land you in trouble. You'll need to speak with your school's administration about that, and check the terms of your scholarship very closely. My neighbor kid just finished a full ride at the University of Michigan, and if he had been busted with an MIP, the Wolverines would have sent him packing - and that right quickly, since he was captain of the football team and they don't take kindly to high-profile scholarship kids doing stupid things. Not all schools are that strict, certainly my alma mater wasn't quite so tough, but this varies from school to school and individual to individual.

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What the cop didn't know is we are all exceptional students, and a number of us have full ride/ partial ride scholarships to big name schools. My friends and I are extremely concerned that we may have jeopardized our five figure scholarships, as well as sending our parents car insurance through the roof... And I know you might say "you should have thought about that before you were drinking!", but in my defense, we never had the intention of getting drunk, we just enjoy a nice beer every now and again

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"you should have thought about that before you were drinking!"

MIP does not require being drunk or intending to get drunk. Since you claim to be an exceptional student, you should understand the difference between possession and being intoxicated.

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, we just enjoy a nice beer every now and again

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so you admit you, now and again, break the law. I guess you pushed your luck a bit too far.

It's too bad you all had beer in your cups. Only two of you actually would be guilty of MIP if it was based only on the BAC.

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311.325. 1. Any person under the age of twenty-one years, who purchases or attempts to purchase, or has in his or her possession, any intoxicating liquor as defined in section 311.020 or who is visibly in an intoxicated condition as defined in section 577.001, or has a detectable blood alcohol content of more than two-hundredths of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in such person's blood is guilty of a misdemeanor. A first violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars. A second or subsequent violation of this section shall be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars. Prior pleas of guilty and prior findings of guilty shall be pleaded and proven in the same manner as required by section 558.021. For purposes of prosecution under this section or any other provision of this chapter involving an alleged illegal sale or transfer of intoxicating liquor to a person under twenty-one years of age, a manufacturer-sealed container describing that there is intoxicating liquor therein need not be opened or the contents therein tested to verify that there is intoxicating liquor in such container. The alleged violator may allege that there was not intoxicating liquor in such container, but the burden of proof of such allegation is on such person, as it shall be presumed that such a sealed container describing that there is intoxicating liquor therein contains intoxicating liquor.

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If you are offered a deferred prosecution program, that is the only way to keep this off your record. You would likely have to perform community service in Missouri as well as attend some classes. Generally one of the requirements of such a program is to not possess or consume alcohol while on the program (from your statements, that might be hard to comply with).

I would suggest hiring a lawyer to advocate for you.

Firstly, thanks a ton for your quick response. Super helpful and informative!

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Quoting LawResearcherMissy

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Why do you think that should make a difference? It's not the cop's job to care about your scholarships, it's yours.

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I don't think it should make a difference. Just kinda throwing it out there.

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Quoting LawResearcherMissy

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Whether your intent to get drunk or not is completely irrelevant. In the United States, it is illegal to consume alcohol if you're under the age of 21, with exceptions being made for religious observances (frex, communion), and in some states you may consume alcohol if your parents physically hand it to you and remain physically present while you consume (frex, Ohio. My sons have wine with dinner every night, but when we head up to MI to the winery we all volunteer in, they can't have a drop because MI says "NO, NEVER, and we'll arrest your Mama if she gives it to you.")

There are no loopholes for "not intending to get drunk". Road to hell, good intentions, blah blah blah. The magic number is 21, bb, unless you meet the exceptions noted above.

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Again, I realize intent is irrelevant but it was more in my own defense laying out the scenario. I know the number is 21. I bring it up because I've had friend who have been caught with BAC's below .08 and have gotten off the hook despite being a minor. I guess it all depends on what mood the cop is in.

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Quoting LawResearcherMissy

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Maybe. Retain counsel and see what sort of diversion programs you might qualify for.

As for your scholarship, the charges alone could land you in trouble. You'll need to speak with your school's administration about that, and check the terms of your scholarship very closely. My neighbor kid just finished a full ride at the University of Michigan, and if he had been busted with an MIP, the Wolverines would have sent him packing - and that right quickly, since he was captain of the football team and they don't take kindly to high-profile scholarship kids doing stupid things. Not all schools are that strict, certainly my alma mater wasn't quite so tough, but this varies from school to school and individual to individual.

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I may sound stupid, but what do you mean by "retain counsel"? Like get a lawyer? In all honestly, I'm fully prepared to pay big money to get it off my record completely, even if requires me to do a bunch of community service, classes, what have you. In regards to the scholarship... I guess I'm gonna have to read into the specifics of it; the ones I've received aren't as prestigious as some of my other friends, so the best-case scenario for us all is to get it off our record totally. When I'm 23 getting out of college, and looking for job, I would REALLY love not having to check that box that asks "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?".

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Again, I realize intent is irrelevant but it was more in my own defense laying out the scenario. I know the number is 21. I bring it up because I've had friend who have been caught with BAC's below .08 and have gotten off the hook despite being a minor. I guess it all depends on what mood the cop is in.

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in my post, if you read the statute, you will see that if your BAC is below .02 and you do not actually have booze in your hand, the charge is not valid but yes, the cop involved can make a huge difference. They do not have to cite a person.

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I may sound stupid, but what do you mean by "retain counsel"? Like get a lawyer?

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yes. hire a lawyer

That's interesting you'd say that. When doing the breathalyzer (some volunteer lady was doing them), some of my friends blew a .008, and a .01. The lady hesitated to continue with the ticket when the big cop guy was like "They're minors, ANY alcohol in the system is punishable!" Does that mean that he was actually wrong and some of my friends can get off from that? I, unfortunately, blew a .027 (even though it felt like a .000), so I don't know if it helps me.

Oh oh, interesting point too... My friend on his ticket, the BAC said ".13" rather then the .013 it was supposed to say! Big difference I know. The cop said "It doesn't matter, alcohol in your system is alcohol in your system." But he did use a pen to X out the wrong BAC and write in the proper one. Hardly official if you ask me.

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But he did use a pen to X out the wrong BAC and write in the proper one. Hardly official if you ask me.

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he corrected it. Why would that be a problem.

as to the BAC; as I said, if nobody actually had any beer in their possession, the BAC would not be high enough for a couple of you to be charged. The fact there was beer in actual possession, the BAC becomes irrelevant.

read the statute I posted. It states there is a .02 bac threshold, if that is the only justification for the charge.

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or has a detectable blood alcohol content of more than two-hundredths of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in such person's blood

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Quoting jk

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he corrected it. Why would that be a problem.

as to the BAC; as I said, if nobody actually had any beer in their possession, the BAC would not be high enough for a couple of you to be charged. The fact there was beer in actual possession, the BAC becomes irrelevant.

read the statute I posted. It states there is a .02 bac threshold, if that is the only justification for the charge.

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So when I get my ticket in the mail, I can use a pen and change my BAC on the ticket to .001, then get a bunch of continuances, then when I go to court, I play it off like the cop changed it, and I shoudn't be guilty of anything. Obviously I'm not going to do that, but that's why I think it is/was a problem. And the beer was in cups, I'd assume that counts as actual possession?

You're a college student getting a good scholarship, so that tells me you're are more than a little intelligent. With that in mind, exactly why are you going to the length you're going and not simply owning it? Good gawd man! You got caught! Deal with it instead of tryin' every lame argument you can conjure up to minimalize your predicament.

Some day you're gonna be out in the adult world, so you may wanna learn to accept the consequence when you screw up and get caught at something. It's a good lesson to learn early.

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OMG! Forget what I said about learning how to deal. It appears you're 'terminal'.....judging from your other thread:

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/show...ht=#post592673

Going into a bit of a nonsensical rant over rolling through a stop sign. Really?

You do know that someday you hafta start acting like a grown-up. Jus' sayin'.

Haha, yep, you caught me souperdave. That's me. I think I'm very justified with my arguments. The consensus I've gathered between this thread and my last one is that no one gives a damn who you are, and the extent of your legal ramifications is solely determined by the police officer, their impression of you, and how their day is going. I'd call that subjective, which is not what the law should be. As such, I affirm my right to bitch and moan a little.

Is it the end of the world for me? No. Would an MIP on my record accurately reflect who I am? Not at all. But I guess you have no way of verifying that... I'm making that conclusion based on my life as a whole. And as you said yourself, I must be more than a little intelligent. :)

The way I see it, is that bad things happen to good people. Either that or just shit happens. Now I can grow up as much as the next guy, but I'm on this forum for a reason, and I can tell you it's not to whole-heartily admit my guilt to strangers. In my case, yes, I was drinking beer underage. Am I the first person to ever commit such an offense? Nope. And I'm here looking for your wisdom and expertise to get me through this.

The fallacy amongst police officers and to whomever reported my friends and I on this fateful evening is that giving them a slap on the wrist, and a $50 fine means everyone wins. Well I'm glad that said $50 will eventually make it back into that officers paycheck, and I'm glad my friends and I were able to put on a show to you as you watched 8 helpless teenagers be given sobriety tests, then subsequently have tickets written up in their name. And as you smugly walked into the stadium going to enjoy the game, I rode home in a car full of guys on the verge of tears. That simple $50 may not seem like much, but it may end up costing my friends and I over $50,000 in scholarships over the next four years. I thought the law system was supposed to correct lives; well it may have ruined some.

So souperdave, that's my spiel. That's why I'm here: for your help. And as I type this, I am grateful to you all that have volunteered your time to help me out. Your comments mean more than me than you will ever know.

I've drawn the conclusion based on my own research and what I've gathered here, that getting a lawyer will be my best bet to possibly have the MIP expunged from my record completely, or done so in a timely minor, all of course in conjunction with fines, community service, and classes. So that's my plan of attack, and I will no doubt keep you posted if you're concerned with my wellbeing.