Underage Possession in Virginia and Possible Police Miconduct

[ModestMuse]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia

Charge: 4.1-305 Underage Possession of Alcohol

Sorry this is rather long but it's one of the messiest stories involving the law I've heard of, let alone witnessed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I was at a friend's party this last weekend in Norfolk, VA, about a block off of the Old Dominion University campus. I stepped outside to make a phone call and fifteen minutes later walked back in to find the party empty except for three Norfolk Police officers and my friend with his roommates sitting on the couch. I didn't know how to react, I was unaware that officers had broken up the party until the moment I stepped inside. I did not have a drink in hand but I was fairly inebriated and the officers had no problem seeing that. I took a sobriety test which I could not have passed to save my life. I also consented to a search of my body in which the officer found and took my pocket knife. The only thing I was charged with was underage possession of alcohol (I'm currently 19 years old), although they gave me a tongue lashing about my pocket knife.

The messy part is that the cops found 10 grams of marijuana divided up into 10 small bags in one of the tenants room. At this point I was sitting on the couch, they did not give me permission to leave yet. The cop took the tenant who had the marijuana, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and forcibly started to shove the poor guy's face back in forth at the pile of marijuana. He then threw him against the wall and smashed his hand so hard it started to bleed. I had witnessed this from my position on the couch. After yelling some more the cop pocketed all of the marijuana packed up and left with the two other police officers. The guy who had the drugs in his room only got a citation for underage possession of alcohol; the rest of the tenants got the same charge as well.

Pertaining to my own 4.1-305:
1. Should I just plea guilty to simplify the process?
2. I'm rather tight on money but would it be in my best interest to pay for a private lawyer? Or should I look in to getting a public defender?

And as far as the behavior of the officers:
1. Did I witness police misconduct or is this normal behavior?
2. Is it my civic duty to report this if they did something illegal?

My court date isn't for a month but I'm still pretty stressed out about the whole thing. Any feedback would be most appreciated.

Thank you for taking time to read this,
ModestMuse

[flyingron]

The GDCs around college campuses are usually pretty greased up to deal with MIPs. You should try to get the $300 fine VADAP/deferral and be done with it.
If you can afford a private attorney, you probably do not qualify for a public defender. I recommend you at least talk to a local lawyer to see what he says he will do for you and how much he will charge.

You can always report the incident to the police department. Info on how to do that here: http://www.norfolk.gov/police/Office..._Standards.asp

[ModestMuse]

Thank you very much for your advice! I have set up a free legal consultation with an attorney in this area that specializes in MIP's for later on this week.

Could you explain more about the VADAP/deferral?

[flyingron]

A lot of the courts (especially near the major universities) will off you a $300 costs, a alcohol awareness course (VADAP) and possibly some community service/probation. If you do all that without screwing up you end up having the charges dismissed.