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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    1

    Default MIP Charges With No Evidence - Should I Plead

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Texas

    First of all, I'm 20 years and 6 months old.

    On the 4th of July I was out with 3 of my friends shooting fireworks. The sheriff's department pulls up and there are a few open beers on the tailgate of the truck, and empty bottles in the trash bag. We were standing in the general area of the truck shooting fireworks.

    The officers asked our age, searched us, and issued MIP citations. They had us call parents to come get us and we were free to go. They did not breathalyze any of us. The cops told the parents they could take the beer.

    My friends have plead guilty to the charges, and were given about a $250 dollar fee, 8 hours community service, an alcohol awareness course, and a 30 day suspension of their drivers licenses.

    Now I could do the same, but I am not sure if that's the right thing to do. After all, I never admitted that I had personally been drinking (they didn't ask), they did not do any field tests or breathalyze me, and I think they might not have even taken any of the bottles with them (they might not even have any evidence against us). I was not acting intoxicated and was polite to the officers. I was issued a citation simply for being near my friend's truck.

    So someone who knows - should I get a lawyer and fight the charge or just plead guilty and accept the punishment?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: MIP Charges W/ No Evidence - Should I Plead

    You were not charged in consumption... but in possession.

    If the beer was nearby and accessible, you were in possession.

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