Juvenile Caught With Drugs, Alcohol and Driving Without a Licence, After Curfew

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Michigan.
I'm 16 years old and I don't have my license yet. I'm from/in Michigan. I was driving around my friends last night and I got pulled over. They found alcohol, weed, and a bowl in my car. I got driving with out a license, MIP, possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, and curfew violation. I need to know what's going to happen to me/ how screwed am I? Any advice would be appreciated and my main concern is my driving without a license charge because if I don't get this overturned I won't get my license until I'm 18 at least and my car will get sold by my parents. please help me!

I expect that you won't be driving until you are 18 and that your parents will be selling your car. Actions have consequences.

What happens in juvenile court will depend on your prior school, community, home and police records, along with the full facts of your offense.

"if I don't get this overturned I won't get my license until I'm 18 at least and my car will get sold by my parents"

You should have thought of this before getting into trouble.

Look, I'm gonna sound like a bitch, but I'm being straight forward with you.

Did your parents know you were out, or did you sneak out? This can affect what happens to you.

You're going to be costing your parents a fortune in legal fees. Please tell me why they should NOT sell your car to pay for your attorney, court costs, fines, etc? And yes, your parents DO need to get you a lawyer. We are talking ATLEAST a few thousand dollars here. Plus the Alcohol/Drug Education classes your parents will have to pay for.

Do yourself and your parents a favor: Get yourself into Alcoholics Anon and Narcotics Anon. The judge may view that as a step in the right direction, but you are going to have to prove yourself, so seriously.....no weed, no booze, new circle of friends, regular attendance at school and these meetings..... And there is a big-time potential that regular or random drug/alcohol testing will be a part of your sentence, so you will need to take those meetings seriously and not as a "get out of Juvenile Detention Free" card.

I'd also say "get a job" and hand over your paycheck to your parents until all legal bills are paid off.....but there is that issue of Pre-Employment drug tests. Meijer, Kroger, WalMart, McD's.....a pothead is not gonna get hired anywhere until all that pot is out of your system.

For marijuana you're much better off seeing if there's a marijuana anonymous group locally, than going to Nar-Anon.

Alright, yes I know the consequences but I was just seeing what would happen. I know they probably should sell my car and I'm not trying to get out of punishment, I just want to be able to drive because I was supposed to help my parents out by running errands for them. I understand I'll probably have a lot of fines. I also get that I screwed up royally. I'm going to try going to a support group/therapy because my parents want me too & and it would probably be a good idea. I've been clean for about 3-4 weeks actually. I looked up some fees and punishments online, & they didn't seem crazy. These are my first offenses and I've never been in trouble before this, I've never even been called down to the office at school before. I have good grades and my GPA is a 3.7. Do I even really need to pay for a lawyer. I know I won't beat the case, but I heard having one could reduce sentencing. It would probably be smarter to go with a court appointed one then right?

You can only get a court-appointed lawyer if your parents cannot afford one. And yes, you do need a lawyer. Your parents can start calling Criminal Defense attorneys and most offer a free consultation.

Here's some info for you:

http://michiganmip.com/ This one is a $55 online alcohol ed class.

This is info on Michigan MIP laws.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MI...4_110123_7.pdf

As you can see, Michigan is tough on MIP's.

Let's not forget you have additional charges for the marijuana, bowl, curfew violation, driving without a license. 5 charges. I can't stress how much you need a lawyer.

A few tips for court: Dress nice. No hats. No cell phone. If you have facial piercings, take 'em off. I'm assuming you are male - if you even have a pierced ear, remove your earring. Shave. If your hair is long, ponytail down the back of your shirt. The judge is "Your honor".

Alright thanks, I appreciate the advice, and thanks for helping me take the first steps in turning my life around.

What kind of parents give their child a car when they don't even have the legal ability to operate one?

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Quoting CourtClerk

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What kind of parents give their child a car when they don't even have the legal ability to operate one?

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The kind whose kid ends up getting charged with a heap of stuff....

You and I call raising a child with the right stuff, "parenting". Others apparently differ ;)

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Quoting Dogmatique

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The kind whose kid ends up getting charged with a heap of stuff....

You and I call raising a child with the right stuff, "parenting". Others apparently differ ;)

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I mean seriously, this bright and shining star hit the criminal trifecta. However, the next post will come from his/her parents stating how good of a kid they are and they're NEVER in trouble. Ever.

And it's someone else's fault this happened.