patmandu57

I'm in a little bit of a predicament. I go to Purdue university here in lovely Indiana. Last weekend, some friends of mine and i got in a car to go see the Grand Prix race across campus. Before we left, i had half of a beer. Someone sober was driving, and little did i know, but the guys in the backseat brought some beer along. Some excise police spotted them, pulled us over and gave us all breathalizers. I blew a .014, but since i am only 19, i got a minor consumption ticket. Would it be best for me to plead guilty, take a class, and pay a fine, or plead not guilty? What can happen to me if i plead guilty? Anyone have any knowledge of the matter? Thanks!

patmandu57

I forgot to mention that I'm a little nervous about this going on my record, being that i am a pilot looking for a career in aviation.

monkeysugar

I'd plead guilty. It's your word against that of the officer, and you did blow positive. Take the class, pay the fine, and don't get caught again. I know in my state (washington) a lot of the time the first one gets "postponed" from going on your record I guess is the best way I describe it. Basically, you pay the fine, take the class, etc. and if you don't fuck up again it goes away when you turn 21. This doesn't always happen, and I don't know the laws in Indiana, but try not to stress it too much. Gain knowledge from the experience, move on, use the knowledge later.

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World's King

If it makes you feel any better I got a DUI Tuesday night. Spent 9 hours in detox.

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iccky

Before you decide what to do I'd find out for sure how this might effect your future career as a pilot. You never know, if something like this will keep you from getting a liscense or worse yet let you get one but make all the airlines shun you. If it is going to have this effect, it might be worth getting a lawyer who can either get you off or work out a deal so that it doesn't end up on your record.

la petite moi

WTH. People driving while drunk really piss me off. One of my co-workers and friend lost both her parents because of a dumbass drunkard who decided to drive. I hope those nine hours passed by REALLY slowly for you, and hopefully you learned something from it.

Anyway, back to the thread- Plead guilty. Because of your age, you don't stand one chance against an officer.

maleficent

Doing some googling on it, and not coming up with any clear answers - other than this happens to a lot of people at Purdue... and that it is a class c misdemeanor it sounds like the diversion program is the way to go... which is paying a fine, and sitting thru what I wuold imagine are excruiatingly dull alcohol education classes.

However... the suggestion to talk to a lawyer before doing anything. I'll take what amounts to probably being an unpopular stance and say talk to your parents and let them help you decide what to do... This is your future you are dealing with...y ou want to do what is best for you. not take the path of least resistance.

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StanT

I'm curious why you would consent to a breathalyzer test as a passenger.

snowy

Plead guilty. Zero tolerance for minors--the evidence is against you. Besides, if you show the court you're cooperative and remorseful, they may eventually strike it from your record.

Secondly, I know tons of people who have MIPs and are still pursuing thier future careers--including a guy going into law enforcement. Of course, out here an MIP is equivalent to a traffic ticket, and if you make it to 21 without one, you're a rare one indeed.

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Gilda

Why on earth would this make anyone feel better?

I shall refrain from making further comment, as the comments I would like to make are inappropriate for this forum.

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sapiens

I would echo this sentiment. Purdue may have student legal services where you can talk to a lawyer for free about your situation.

Mojo_PeiPei

Precisely.

World's King

Oddly it pisses me off too.

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present_future

In my state (Illinois) you have the right do deny taking a breathalyzer test, but if you choose to not take it, you lose your driver's license for 6 months, automatically. That's even if you're not driving. It may be different in Indiana, I'm not sure.
Anyways, plead guilty, as it's your word against the officer's.

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patmandu57

I'm going to talk to a lawyer on monday, but i'm leaning towards guildy and a diversion program. It's just a shame that i am punished for having half a beer and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh well, that's life. Thanks for the input!!!

Biscuit Buns

Oh, lord, I've so been there. MC's and smoking tickets are all the rage here. I have no advice for you except to wear your "Sunday best" and get the DA and his daughter to stand next to you.

Hope this all works out for you. What a pain in the ass.

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Vincentt

Shitty deal man, I say talk to a lawyer. Maybe they could say the .014 was with error and breathments or something could have made it so. Some type of bullshit. It is how the system works, they bullshit you, you pay someone to bullshit them back.

I know some people at my campus who get into this kind of trouble all the time, the biggest pisser is how they don't mess with the frats even though any given party is full of underage drinkers.

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Carno

Tough break man.

martinguerre

you can plea "nolo" or and Alford plea, which basically lets them treat you like you pled guilty, except that you do not legally admit guilt...you just say that you are not contesting the charges. or, you could ask the prosecutor to plea it out with the caveat that it does not go to your record, or is taken off in a few years if you have no further charges.

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cj2112

See what the prosecutor is willing to offer, I would offer to plea guilty, on theses conditions: 1. It stays off my record. 2. No jail time. 3. Minimal fine, such as 30 or 40 dollars. 5. No supervised probation. See what they offer back to you.

Carno

Dude, seriously, you should feel disgusted with yourself.


I think drinking and driving should be punishable by death. Too many times the only death caused by drinking and driving is that of innocent people though. Like my best friend in high school.

Master_Shake

Damn. Always talk to a lawyer before you plead guilty to something like this. You could lose your license and have something on your record to explain later on.
Nonsense, portable breath tests aren't admissible in court in Indiana, and there is no other evidence that he was drinking. I think the case is very much in his favour if anything.

IC 7.1-5-7-7
Illegal possession
Sec. 7. (a) It is a Class C misdemeanor for a minor to knowingly:
(1) possess an alcoholic beverage;
(2) consume it; or
(3) transport it on a public highway when not accompanied by at least one (1) of his parents or guardians.

To convict you of this crime they have to prove that you consumed alcohol beyond a reasonable doubt. If they don't have the BAC test, what have they got? Don't give in to the cops or the DA, and don't believe anything they say to you. Hire a DUI attorney who knows the law.

Note: Even if you confessed (which you probably did because like most people you were frightened of the cops and thought that cooperating was the way to go) they probably can't use your statement against you. This is called corpus delicti, and requires that the state produce some independent evidence that a crime was committed before using your statement against you.

After speaking with an attorney this may very well be your best choice. But make sure it's an option! A lot of localities refuse to cut deals with college students because they feel they have to make an example. Call your local bar association for a referral.

WTF!?! Drinking and driving isn't even illegal and you want to kill everybody who does it?

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snowy

The law is different in every state--not all of us are familiar with how Indiana's minor in possession laws work.

Like I said, out here an MIP is equivalent to a traffic ticket, and I'd imagine it's the same in a lot of other states. It's unfortunate that that is not the case in Indiana.

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boiler

i was googling around for some answers today about minor consumption tickets and your post came up...
i got a minor consumption here at purdue on friday during grand prix weekend. my sober friend got pulled over leaving a liquor store and i was in the backseat. they breathalized everyone in the car, gave tickets to me and my two friends. the driver got a furnishing alcohol under the age ticket (he blew 0.0), the passenger in shotgun got an inducing a minor to furnish alcohol charge (because he was 21) and i got a minor consumption for just being in the car for the ride. i thought we were being responsible by finding a sober ride to the liquor store, but i guess not. grand prix weekend is a bunch of BS. oh, and the worste part about it, they ceased an uptapped keg of budlight which we had just purchased for a little over 100 bucks. what a heartbreaker!

now, this is my second minor consumption ticket that i've gotten. i got one visiting my brother at college when i was in high school up in minnesota. funny you mention your an aviation major, because my brother is a pilot and he was in school when we both received tickets. my dad got my older brother a lawyer to make sure that it didnt go on his record, but when we got to court they offered us a program where we could plead guilty, do community service, pay a fine, go on probation, and then the ticket would be thrown out 6 months later. friends of mine here at purdue who have recieved tickets during grand prix have all told me that because it is such a big party weekend, the court is lenient with allowing the ticket to remain off your record.

i saw that some people asked why anyone would consent to a breathalizer when in the backseat? the officer specifically told me that if i didnt take the breathalizer, they have the option to take me into the station, as well as the other passengers who were in the car. basically if i didnt play by their rules, they would do everything in their power to maximize the charges on me and my two friends. inducing a minor to furnish alcohol is a pretty hefty ticket so in the best interest of myself and my friends i consented to the breathalizer. i blew a 0.10, so i was by no means drunk.

my gameplan is to go to court thursday morning, just plead guilty with a diversion program that will make sure that it does not go on my record, and maybe some community service and fine. maybe ill see you there for court lol

ASU2003

How do they know you were drinking alcohol and weren't sick and had some Nyquil? What would be the outcome if you pleaded no contest? I'm not a lawyer though, and I'm sure they can find something wrong to get the case thrown out. Then again, the standing rule is to never, ever have anything in your car that you don't want a cop to see.

Cops in Indiana suck, I won't go back there for a few more years after getting a speeding ticket because they felt the need to lower the speed limit to 45 on the highway (everyone else was going 65, it was a nice 3 lane highway).