Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Underage Drinking Citation

I was walking with a friend of mine in the South Side. A friend behind us, who was visibly drunk, was pushing on side-view mirrors when a man and his group of friends rushed him and punched him, knocking him down. I ran back to try to peacefully resolve the altercation. The crowd dispersed, and the people I was with were further up the street. A police officer approached me and began to question me. He intially thought I was the one who had been vandalizing the mirrors, but when he realized I wasn't, he simply wrote me a ticket for underage drinking without adminstering a breathalyzer or reading me any rights. On the ticket, he wrote that my breath smelled like alcohol and that my speech was slurred. I'm on probabtion for a DUI charge a year ago, and I'm wondering if I have a defense against this charge considering that it is just the officer's word against mine. (I repeatedly told him that I wasn't drinking but I was with people that had been).


Asked on 5/29/07, 12:14 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Gibson John W. Gibson, Esquire

Re: Underage Drinking Citation

A lot depends on the Magisterial District Judge that hears the case. It sounds to me like you may have a defense if your friends are willing to come to your hearing and testify that you were not drinking but, even then, you have a problem of credibility. Imagine you are the Judge hearing the case. You are with friends at least one of whom is visibly intoxicated and you are admittedly with people who had been drinking. The Officer tells the Judge your speech was slurred, your breath smelled of alcohol, and probably he will add that your eyes were bloodshot. If it was at night on a weekend when the bars on the Southside are packed, I don't think I like your odds, even if your friends are willing to testify that you were not drinking.

Read more
Answered on 5/29/07, 1:12 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in Pennsylvania