Minor in Possession law - PA

[bby31288]

Hi all, i have googled and googled, I cannot find what if any are the mandatory punishments for a Minor in possession of alcohol law in Pennsylvania? easy child, 18, well I guess I should re-phrase that to easy child/difficult child ~sometimes, was in the Poconos for an after prom weekend. Well wouldn't you know the cops showed up for disturbing the peace, the kids had beer, took all the beer and are sending citations in the mail. There were almost 25 kids there. I believe it is a mandatory court appearance. Does anyone know if she will lose her license?? help!!

 

[witzend]

She might lose her license. She should get an attorney. I hope that you will be sure that she takes an active role in hiring and paying for an attorney. There isn't a mandatory law, per se, but a well represented child will be better off than one who shows up in court unrepresented. There are a lot of questions that they will ask, such as who drove her to the party, who supplied the alcohol, etc.

 

[Star*]

She could also get the atty to ask for a work/drivers permit. But if she is caught anywhere except for to - from work - then MAN is she going to get it double.

Also - most attorneys have free consultation on DUI cases. Couldn't hurt to set up a few appts. and get some information.

 

[bby31288]

Thanks all. I will wait until we get the citation in the mail, see exactly what it says and figure out about the lawyer. They were inside the house and thankfully not driving. But for what I can see, it can be up to $500. fine and suspension of license just because she wasn't 18. What happened is they got to the Poconos about 5:15 in the morning. The were loud I guess, there was a disturbance of peace call about 6:15, 6:30, they unloaded and then played the radio, walked by the lake. When the cops showed up it was about 10:30 in the morning, they were investigating. Everyone in the house was sleeping, the cop knocked, no one came in he saw the beer and came in, woke everyone up. Then proceeded to confiscate the beer and take all of their information. I will let you guys know what comes in the mail!

 

[witzend]

That sounds about par for the course for her age. When you get the ticket, look up the code in your state by googling your state name and "revised statutes" and the code number. There should be a range of penalties, but she doesn't necessarily have to plead guilty.

 

[klmno]

Try searching "juvenile" or "delinquency" instead of "minor". In Virgina, when it comes to breaking the law as a minor they use these terms. If it's regarding dicorce or an offense against someone under-age they refer to them as "minors".

 

[everywoman]

Here MIP is loss of license for 6 months + $750 fine. I know, difficult child had one at 18.

 

[maril]

This occurred in PA: Earlier this year, difficult child received two citations; one relates to underage drinking -- the back of the citation states, "Please note that a guilty plea to offenses relating to underage drinking, 18 Pa.C.S....will result in the suspension of your driver's license."

We've heard other possibilities may include fines, community service; guess it will depend on the magistrate. difficult children continuing participation in rehab may also make a difference for him. We have to wait and see.

 

[bby31288]

Maril thank you so much. Does anyone know if she pleads not guilty do we need a lawyer? I have never been thru this. I mistyped in my first post. She is 18.

 

[klmno]

I would recommend an attny if you want to fight the charge. However, I don't know that I'd recommend fighting the charge if she is guilty. It might be more useful to get an attny to fight for minimal punishment. My guess isd that there is possibility of probation as well as suspended license. Also, there might be a mandatory substance abuse class involved. Really, none of these things are necessarily bad- unless you get a jerk for a PO.

 

[Momslittleangels]

Do they have any proof that SHE was drinking? Did she admit she was drinking or do they cite everyone, because there was been laying around? For purposes of the underage drinking rules, they still consider 18 a minor, since she is under the legal drinking age of 21, even though she is an adult.

 

[Momslittleangels]

I meant to say "beer" above, not "been". It looks like a 90 day license suspension for the first offense, according to this attorney's website.

http://www.palicenseattorney.com/PracticeAreas/Underage-Drinking.asp

 

[bby31288]

Momslittleangels. Thanks for the link. It helped alot. I want her to be responsible, but at the same time, I am thinking, how the heck is she going to get back and fourth to class, etc for college in Sept or to work this summer to help pay for college. Sometimes kids are so stupid. If she doesn't start school, she loses her health insurance. It is like a big vicious circle!

 

[klmno]

You might be able to get an attny who can argue to the court that she should have a restricted license instead of suspended. So, she could drive back and forth to school during certain hours, but no place else. I would shoot for that. The courts like kids who go to school!

 

[susiestar]

Whatever she pleads, she NEEDS a lawyer. Most companies that offer towing,etc (like AAA) have a provision for an attorney. Also check if either you or husband has legal insurance through work. I think it is called pre-paid legal.

You also might find help from the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if either your or husband's company offers it. Ours actually gets 3 lawyer visits per problem, along with counselling services, etc... We found that invaluable when dealing with all of the process of buying our home, and again when we were checking options about putting Wiz into Residential Treatment Center (RTC) or whatever when he couldn't live at home safely.

If you end up paying for her lawyer, make it on the condition she pays you back for whatever amount you think is reasonable. If possible, have part of her debt paid for by doing hard physical labor.

There is a reason for the hard physical labor. It seems to set the whole situation more firmly into the mind so that they have less chance of repeating it. It makes the entire thing more eventful and memorable.

This is what the therapist had us do with Wiz, and what my dad did with Wiz after he moved in with them. And after about 6 months the change was so dramatic in Wiz, and has stayed dramatic and positive.

 

[bby31288]

We do have EAP. I will call them tomorrow!