First Offense: Minor with Possession of Alcohol

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia

I am 18 yrs old. I recently went into a convenient store that does not ID you for beer. I purchased a case of beer and put it into my car. I started to drive away, and when I pulled out of the parking lot two police officers pulled out of a parking lot across the street and pulled up behind me. They followed me for about .5 mile and then turned on their lights and pulled me over. I recieved an underage possession of alcohol charge and have to go to court. I was not speeding or made any traffic law violation. Did they have the right to pull me over because they suspected I was under 21 or is that a violation of the 4th ammendment?

Also, what charges could I be facing if I plead guilty?

Thanks!

1) What penalties am I looking at?

The penalties for underage alcohol possession in Virginia are pretty severe:

http://law.justia.com/virginia/codes...0/4.1-305.html

"Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor; and upon conviction, (i) such person shall be ordered to pay a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or ordered to perform a mandatory minimum of 50 hours of community service as a condition of probation supervision and (ii) the license to operate a motor vehicle in the Commonwealth of any such person age 18 or older shall be suspended for a period of not less than six months and not more than one year."

But...

"When any person who has not previously been convicted of underaged consumption, purchase or possession of alcoholic beverages in Virginia or any other state or the United States is before the court, the court may, upon entry of a plea of guilty or not guilty, if the facts found by the court would justify a finding of guilt of a violation of subsection A, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, defer further proceedings and place him on probation subject to appropriate conditions."

If this is your first alcohol offense, then, you may get lucky and get probation without even a finding of guilt. But to make that happen, you need to hire a lawyer.

2) Did they violate the 4th Amendment by pulling me over and searching me just because they suspected I was underage?

Probably not.

First off, they may have run your license plates in that .5 mile journey, and found out that the owner of the car was a minor. It's probably a reasonable enough inference to establish probable cause that a) they saw you buy or carry liquor, and b) they saw you get in the car and drive away, and c) that the owner of the car is known to be a minor. Put those facts together, and a reasonable person could believe that a crime had been committed, and that you were the person who committed the crime. But even without running your plates, it may be sufficient to establish probable cause that they a) saw you buy or carry liquor, and b) that you looked underage.

Even so, 4th Amendment law is notoriously foggy, and the above so-called "analysis" is just based on my hazy memory of a 4th Amendment class I took years ago. Especially if the police reports don't indicate that they ran your plates, or if the car is licensed in an adult's name, it is probably worth mentioning the question to an attorney. The one you should hire to get probation without even being convicted.

I'm 17 in Washington State and I got charged with a Minor in Possession, but the cop that charged me didn't read me my rights after the arrest. So I'm wondering if I could possibly get away clean or would there still be some consequences? And what should I mention to a public defender?

Quote:

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Quoting MisterSniffles

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I'm 17 in Washington State and I got charged with a Minor in Possession, but the cop that charged me didn't read me my rights after the arrest. So I'm wondering if I could possibly get away clean or would there still be some consequences?

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Nope... Getting away clear is NOT going to happen simply because the officer did not read you your rights. Miranda only applies (is required) during a custodial interrogation... If you're not being interrogated, they don't need to read you your rights!

If you have any additional questions, PLEASE start your own thread!