Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

I was recently charged with underage possession of alcohol in the state of virginia. The officer that pulled the vehicle over said he pulled the car over because the driver(who was sober) had dead west virginia tags. The officer stated "the tags expired at the beginning of the month,not the end" the tags were sept. tags and it was right in the middle of september. when the officer approached the driver, I was in the back seat along with two of my friends. the drivers boyfriend in the front seat. when the cop asked to see her license she said it was in the back of her car (she has a hatchback type car) so she steps out and gets it. When she gets her license she closes the hatch and talks to the officer for no more than a minute. The next thing we know, the officer approached the car with a breathalyzer. We were all underage. The drivers boyfriend blew a .067 and left him alone. The officer then pulls me and my two friends out of the backseat and we submit to a breathalyzer. I blew a 1.3, my friend sitting next to me blew a 1.2 and my friend sitting at the other window also blew over. I had recognized the cop that had pulled us over from a party that got busted a few weeks earlier where i had been let go because I only blew a 0.015. When he was writing our tickets I engaged in friendly conversation with the officer stating I had recognized him from the party a few weeks earlier. While he was writing my ticket he looked at my and my friend that was sitting next to me and said and I quote " You didn't learn the first time you stupid fucks?" The driver who had expired tags was not given a ticket for her tags( I believe the vehicle cannot be driven on expired tags and must be towed) and her boyfriend in the front seat who also blew over(.067) also did not get charged. Can the cop talk to me and my friend like that? and decide who to give tickets to? and whats the best course of action with this statement when I go to court?


Asked on 10/30/12, 7:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Sure, the cop can talk in the manner described because obviously he did. (Whether such alleged talk is good for the Commonwealth's case, however, is quite another matter.)

Your best course of action NOW is to hire an attorney experienced in defending

DUI cases in the jurisdiction in which you are now facing these charges and to discuss the matter only with your attorney and no one else.

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Answered on 10/30/12, 8:29 pm


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