MIP and Open Container in Georgia

Hey Folks:

Hoping you can help me out here. My 17 year-old son was heading to the High School football game and apparently pulled out in front of someone on the road to the high school. My guess is the person he pulled in front of reported it to one of the police officers directing traffic. So my son is waiting in line to get a parking space, and an undercover officer comes up to his window where my son is enjoying a vodka cranberry juice mix out of a water bottle. Nice, eh? :eek: The undercover officer reaches in to grab his drink (she didn't identify herself), my son resists and the drink goes all over him and his car. He pulls away and leaves the parking lot and goes to a fast food restaurant to clean up and dispose of what is left of his beverage. He begins to head home and the police follow him so he pulls into a friends driveway and sits. Finally the cop comes up and gives him a field sobriety test (passed) and a blow test (.01). They charge him with Minor in Possession (3-3-23) and Open Container (40-6-253). The police call me and ask me if its alright for him to drive home which I allowed him to do.
My questions are:

1. Anything here, like the actions of the undercover officer, that gives a basis for challenging this in court or should I just pay the fines?
2. Any idea how much the fines will be?
3. The officer said this would not go on his driving record and would not affect his license... true?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Mike

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Quoting madmike30269

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1. Anything here, like the actions of the undercover officer, that gives a basis for challenging this in court or should I just pay the fines?

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Did the action of the officer compel your son possess alcohol? I don't think so. So even if the officer failed to initially ID herself properly, your son was still apparently guilty of the offense.

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2. Any idea how much the fines will be?

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No idea.

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3. The officer said this would not go on his driving record and would not affect his license... true?

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In my state if could, but your state might be different.

You may consider consulting an attorney for your son just so that you know what the ramifications might be.

So, what are YOU going to do about it? If this had been one of my son's he wouldn't need a license because his car and his license would both be gone.


- Carl

Hi Carl:

Thanks for your response. Taking away license and car is easier said than done. He is allowed to take his car to and from work and school. All income tips and paycheck (he works at a Pizza Place) come directly to me until his fines, whatever they are, are paid. If he is not at school or work, he is at home... no socializing.

Mike

Okay. My point (and my hope) was that there was some measure of punishment and parental disapproval.

Last night we had two huge parties outside town involving more than 80 kids. Had we not planted a deputy and an officer on the road near these parties, it is likely we would have 40 - 60 cars with inebriated teens driving in them ... instead, they called friends and family who were sober to come and get them. And, of course, the parents hosting these parties are likely to get charged criminally.

Having had to help scrape the remains of three teens off the road in the last few months because of drunken driving fatalities, I am hypersensitive to the issue.

- Carl

http://www.lexis-nexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp

Go to that site and type in the codes for those violations and you will find the penalties for them.

Hi Carl:

Oh yeh, extreme disappointment and punishment. When the officer called me last night to get approval for him to drive home, I told her that his trouble with the police was the least of his worries... and she said, yeh I think he knows that. I had an hour and a half conversation with him about it in which mostly he sobbed and kept saying he was so sorry. He betrayed my trust and I think he understands that. My wife and I were supposed to be going to the lake this weekend with the two younger ones, and this was supposed to be his first weekend alone at home. I decided to stay home, not so much to keep an eye on him, but because I am concerned about his emotional state right now and didn't want him to be alone. He feels like his life has ended over this and I am trying to walk the line on being upset/punitive, but also not beating him down so far that he gives up. Its a tough line.

Mike

Thanks Happy Trails. Just what I was looking for. $300 max fine for MIP and $200 for open container.

Mike

Carl:

You are a police officer, correct? Let me tell you what I was thinking about the undercover officer and why I thought there might be a reason for a dismissal. Don't get me wrong, we will probably just pay the fines and be done with it but the undercover officer reached in his window and tried to grab the water bottle and in the process it spilled all over him. When the police pulled him over the reasonable suspicion that gave rise to the sobriety tests and his tickets was that he smelled like alcohol. My question is, if that was an illegal "search" by reaching in his car,, can the fruits of that search "his tickets" be legal? What do you think? It wasn't the fact that she was undercover and didn't identify herself, it was that she reach in his car without reasonable cause?

Mike

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Quoting madmike30269

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You are a police officer, correct? Let me tell you what I was thinking about the undercover officer and why I thought there might be a reason for a dismissal. Don't get me wrong, we will probably just pay the fines and be done with it but the undercover officer reached in his window and tried to grab the water bottle and in the process it spilled all over him.

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Yes, I am a police supervisor and the number two guy in my department.

The officer likely was not "undercover", but instead in "soft clothes" or even plain clothes. It's likely that she identified herself or she was wearing some indicia of her position.

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When the police pulled him over the reasonable suspicion that gave rise to the sobriety tests and his tickets was that he smelled like alcohol.

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Well, if the original officer provided the description of his vehicle than that previous contact would have been sufficient cause for the detention. If the stop had been for something unrelated to the original contact, then I suppose an argument could be made that the officer did not properly identify herself and the alcohol was spilled ... though, at least in my experience, that would likely not prevail as the odor of alcohol would likely have been present whether the alcohol spilled or not.

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My question is, if that was an illegal "search" by reaching in his car,, can the fruits of that search "his tickets" be legal?

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In my state, an attempted seizure of contraband would not be unlawful. I suspect that it will be lawful in GA as well.

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What do you think? It wasn't the fact that she was undercover and didn't identify herself, it was that she reach in his car without reasonable cause?

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I suspect that the officer smelled the alcohol and that would have been sufficient cause to seize the cup. If the officer could not articulate that good cause, then the seizure might be iffy. But, I suspect the officer would not have reached for it had she not smelled the odor of alcohol int he first place.

- Carl

For what its worth, the person who originally reached her hand into the vehicle was not an undercover officer but some random woman who saw my son driving "fast" throught the parking lot. Flagged him down and when he rolled down the window she tried to grab his water bottle.

Mike