Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

3rd Offense Underage Drinking

I was at a friends house socially drinking when the cops come banging at her door. She failed to tell us that she had warrants out for her arreset and the landlord had to come unlock the door for the police officers because no one would answer. Officers asked why it took so long , is it because there was some drinking going on. A girl announced ''no'' Thats when they opened the refrigerator and found alcohol. Breathalyzer tests were given . I had a 0.012. Is this admissable? The first one they gave me came out inaccuratley. Can i use this to better my chances of winning my case? Was it illegal for them to open the refrigerator? I am joining the Air Force soon and I need to get myself out of this situation as soon as possible, if possible. A third underage will make impossible for me to enter the Military at all in my lifetime. Is there any information that I can recieve to better my knowledge of what I can do to get these charges dropped? Thank You for your time.


Asked on 11/13/07, 8:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Douglas Sughrue Attorneys Crosby & Sughrue

Re: 3rd Offense Underage Drinking

Your best chance to have the charges dropped is to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer. I seriously doubt a thrid underage will keep you out of the military, but you should check with your recruiter.

Police often violate the constitutional rights of underage drinkers because the police and some DJs do not think the constitution applies to such minor offenses. Well, it does and if you want to enforce it against the police, then you need to plead not guilty and hire a lawyer with the experience to help you.

I would also recommend attempting to resolve the case w/o a conviction by offering to do community service etc. If you are truly singed up to go to basic training in the next few months, often the DJ & police will take that into consideration when resolving your case.

The admissibilty of the bac from the portable breath test (pbt) is only admissible to show the presence of alcohol. They are not reliable enough to determine an accurate bac for court purposes. The rate of error can also be high enough under certain circumstances that a reading of .012 is not sufficient to support an underage conviction. However, if you made statements that you possessed, transported, purchased, consumed alcohol, then your admission may be enough to convict you. Remember, you have two choices when talking to the cops--either tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and suffer the consequences or remain silent and raise your 5th amendment.

Thanks for the question and good luck.

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Answered on 11/14/07, 6:33 pm


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