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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    1

    Default Minor Misdemeanor Charges for Open Container and Public Consumption

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ohio

    Hello,

    The other night two friends of mine went to a park after-hours, parked in the parking lot, and proceeded to drink alcohol. Very little alcohol was consumed (about two 12 ounce bottles of 4.0% alcohol content), and they sat in the car for about two hours before a police officer showed up and opened the car door and asked them to step out of the car. He took their ID's (one friend was a minor and the other was an adult), and then asked if there were any drugs or alcohol in the car. The friend who was a minor responded "no", and the officer then told my friend that he was going to do a quick search of the vehicle, which the friend then responded by saying "I would prefer if you would not search my vehicle". The police officer then stated that he had justifiable cause to search the vehicle as the vehicle was classified as suspicious, and the friend then responded by confessing that he would find alcohol in the car, as they were scared that lying to the officer would have resulted in a greater punishment.

    The police officer then took my two friends to the back of his car and shut them in, and then searched the vehicle very thoroughly. Three other police cars showed up to the scene, and after about an hour of searching and conversation, the police officer told the two friends that they would be cited for underage consumption. However, after another conversation with the other police officers, he then returned and told the two friends that the friend who was a minor who owned the vehicle would merely be cited with the minor misdemeanor of an open container violation, and the friend who was an adult would be cited with a minor misdemeanor of consumption. Once they were both taken home, they spoke to me the next day very worried about how it would affect the college application processes that they are both going through. They have both already applied to a few schools, but still have more to come, and there is a question on the Common Application that asks whether or not you have been convicted of a misdemeanor. So, the questions they are wondering about are:

    Is a minor misdemeanor the same as a misdemeanor, and does it need to be reported to common app since they technically have not been convicted, only charged?

    Is there a way to have the charges dropped/expunged/sealed for the friend who is a minor as well as the friend who is an adult?

    Thank you so much for taking the time to read this

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Can a Public Consumption/Open Container Violation Be Expunged

    How old are you (or whoever the minors involved)?

    Minor misdemeanors are not considered part of the reportable criminal convictions as far as Ohio job applications go (I presume that college applications may follow the same rule).

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