Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

minor in possession charges

i was with 3 other guys and we were getting out of the car in a parking gerage. Me and another one of the guys were carrying some beer for the driver cause he had to lock up his car before i was able to to take the beer out and hand it to him an officer saw me pulling out the beer out of my pocket when i was handing it to the driver and he stopped only me and the other guy with the beer who was doing the same. I was wondering if i chalenge the ticket is there enough doubt to drop the case, since the cop only stopped two of us and not the whole group. thanks


Asked on 2/14/05, 3:22 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: minor in possession charges

You can always challenge the citation and hope for a lucky break (maybe the officer won't be there, for example), but it looks like that's the only way you could win.

You're a minor, you were in possession of a beer (just holding it is enough, even if it belonged to someone else), and an officer caught you in the act. You evidently knew it was a beer, so you had the necessary intent. You seem to be guilty as charged.

The fact that the driver and your other friend weren't cited is irrelevant. They weren't holding any alcohol, so there was no reason to cite them. For all I know, they weren't even minors.

But even if they could have been cited, the fact that they weren't has nothing to do with whether you knowingly possessed alcohol. That's what the court will be focused on.

Good luck.

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Answered on 2/14/05, 3:55 am


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