Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Re: Underage possession of alcohol

First of all, don't sweat it as much as you are doing. You didn't completely blow anything. Be honest with the bar and you should be fine. In regards to a sentence I am sure you won't get much more then a withold and court costs. I would look in your area to see if they have any kind of pre-trial diversion program.

Good luck

Bradford

Re: Underage possession of alcohol

Don't worry, this will be a minor (no pun intended) matter in the eyes of the State Attorney and the Court. I say this not because they do not care about the law, but solely because it is your first offense. I just disposed of one of these cases the other day. You may want to fight the charge if you did not do it. However, the following is advice on negotiating a disposition with the State.

My client last week had no prior record. The State offered to reccommend to the court that my client have to pay court costs if we wanted to plead no contest. They agreed to a withhold of adjudication of guilt. This is up to the Judge, but the court, in this type of matter will normally go along with the State on that. A withhold means this is not a conviction. If the court declared a sentence to be an adjudication of guilt, this would be a conviction. If you got a withhold, you could seal the file at a later date.

One issue, VERY IMPORTANT, Fla. statutes state if a person is CONVICTED of this crime, his/her drivers license will be suspended for a period of months. You can look this up in our statutes at the library or on line.

Another possible disposition may be available to you. I do not know what county you got this in, so I can only tell you what is available to my clients up here. When a defendant with this charge has no priors, the State automatically offers the client a diversionary program. If Def. wants this, he/she makes a voluntary agreement between the State and the defendant. The def. agrees to do some activities they agree on and the State defers prosecution. Once def. completes the agreed obligations (e.g., com. service hours, letter of apology, tour of jail, restitution if applicable, etc.), the State will DROP the charge. There you can later say on any application or questionaire, you were not charged, that it was dropped.

My last client was not offered that program because she had another charge for having a fake ID. She was happy with the disp. anyway as it was immed. over and she did not have to do com. service or any other activities. 'Hope this helps. Tom Rosenblum

Re: Underage possession of alcohol

The judge may give you up to 6 months probation or just a suspended sentence. If you were actually arrested, he may just give you credit for the time you served. A suspended sentence is where the judge sentences you to a certain number of days in jail, but you don't actually go to jail if you complete the conditions of your suspension (such as a fine and community service). The problem is that if the judge gives you a suspended sentence, he has to adjudicate you guilty (convict you), and doesn't have the option of withholding adjudication. If he gives you probation instead, it may be more costly and time consuming than a suspended sentence, but he can at least withhold adjudication (so you won't have a conviction on your record). As for law school, just be honest on your application and smart in your explanation (don't make excuses; accept responsibility for your poor judgment). If you represent yourself in court, make sure the judge and prosecutor know your plans for law school so they can take that into consideration. If you have any further questions, or desire my representation please feel free to contact me. You may also be eligible for something called PreTrial Diversion, where you complete a program and then the State drops the criminal charges against you. That would be the best thing for you in terms of your record.