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  1. #1

    Default Open Container in a Vehicle, VC 23222(A) for an 18-Year Old

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: CA

    My daughter was stopped by an officer because she was told that the hitch on the bumper of her truck obscured the license plate of her vehicle. (That hitch has been there for 15 years.) She was not speeding and the citation states that her speed was 25 in a 25. We live in a very safe and very small town and teens are stopped all the time. There were three others, ages 19-21 in the vehicle with her.

    After being questioned, my 18 year old daughter got a VC 23222(a) for an open container. On the citation where it indicated misdemeaner or infraction, infraction was circled.

    Apparently she had a bottle of liquor in her vehicle from the previous weekend (stupid in more ways than one). When asked if she had been drinking, she said that she had not been. When asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle that would be found if they conducted a search, she remembered the bottle and admitted to the alcohol.

    Will she automatically get her license suspended? What can she expect to happen?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Open Container in a Vehicle, VC 23222(A) for an 18-Year Old

    If convicted she can expect a license suspension under VC 13202.5.

    She may want to consult a lawyer about the possibility of challenging the validity of the stop, or of getting a deferred sentence.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    California
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    20,594

    Default Re: Open Container in a Vehicle, VC 23222(A) for an 18-Year Old

    If the plate was obscured, then the stop would appear to be valid. I live in a small, rural community and this is a scenario that plays out with some frequency here. But, I recall one judge in San Diego County that got tired of trailer hitch stops and began regularly tossing them ... maybe your daughter will get lucky.

    As a note, I remove my trailer ball when I am not using it. It takes about 20-30 seconds and can save me a lot of headaches.

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