Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
My 19 year old son was recently cited for underage drinking at a party with his peers. He had not consumed any alcohol and when asked by the citing officer responded as such, also requesting a breathalyzer to prove that he had not been drinking. He was ignored by the officer and subsequently rec'd two citations in the mail one for disorderly conduct and the other for underage alcohol consumption. The citation stated that he "willfully admitting that he had consumed alcohol." Logically I feel as if perhaps his rights were violated as he attempted to do the right thing and ultimately that did not end in his favor. Where his rights violated?
2 Answers from Attorneys
I'm sorry your son has to deal with this. It will be very hard to prove his rights were violated. If he was present where there was underage drinking the police probably had a right to issue a citation to him. A hearing will be scheduled before the local DJ. You may want to consult with a criminal law attorney in your area to see if it's worth the atty fees to hire an atty. It's difficult, but not impossible, to get a good result without an atty. If you decide to do it without an atty & the result is bad, you can appeal to the county court, in which case you will definitely need an atty, but the atty fees will then be more. If you need a referral to a good atty in your area please contact me. Good luck!
No, your son's rights were not violated. More and more I am seeing what can only be described as thuggish behavior by the police. What you son should have done was immediately go and get a blood alcohol test on his own to prove unequivocally that he was not drinking. Now it is too late to do that and its going to be your son's word against the officer's. And the officer will make something up about how your son appeared to be intoxicated and refused to obey orders. Get a criminal attorney NOW and stop worrying about your son's civil rights. Where the police are involved, your son does not have very many rights anymore.
The disorderly conduct charge is for arguing (talking back) to the officer. Your son probably should be able to get that dismissed but get an attorney who has an in with the district attorney, the judges and the police.
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