Underage drinking ticket?

That happened to a friend of mine’s son. He was in college, first day, and got caught drinking underage. His mom got the notice at home within 2 weeks. She went to court with him and he got a fine and court costs. I think it was about 500.00 in all.

I’m assuming the main concern here is that your parents will get a letter. If that is the case and you have a debit/credit card go to the USPS website and do a change of address form. It will kick in pretty fast. And once you get that letter switch it back so they don’t think anything is funny.

And do you live on campus and they wanted your parents address?

I got three minor in possessions and they only wanted where I currently reside. And I got them at college parties blocks away from campus. I find it a bit odd they would notify your parents since you are over 18.

But as for dealing with the ticket. I would go to court and plead guilty. When I got my first one the ticket was 160 and I went in and plead guilty and the judge knocked it down to 40. I paid at the counter and it was all over. The entire thing took about 45 minutes.

Note that I am 40 years old and where I got them was a pretty lenient place and the college was a party school so I think the cops didn’t care much. I think the University had a bit of sway over the police since the college is a huge chunk of our economy. What I am saying is my experience could be wildly different from yours.

I agree with @johnpowell that each school will be different in how they handle underage drinking.

I’m guessing that this is not “school” cops who gave you the ticket, so “how the school handles underage drinking” is going to be the least of your worries. And times have changed a lot since @johnpowell received citations for similar offenses some 21 years ago.

You should get an attorney. One of the likely things to result from a guilty plea is a loss of license (that is, a suspension) for some length of time. What will that do to your plans, if you live away from home now, and the end of the school year is coming up soon?

You need advice that no one here can competently give you.

In California you would lose your drivers license if you are under the influence. So did you get busted for possession, or for being under the influence? There is a difference.

Did they breathalyze you or do a sobriety test? That is why @CWOTUS suggests an attorney, because a misdemeanor possession is one thing, but an UI bust can carry other penalties beyond a fine.

I very strongly urge you to contact your parents and tell them about this before they are contacted. If you want to be treated as the adult that you are, own up to this error and discuss how to best handle it with your parents.

I will second @Pied_Pfeffer‘s recommendation. Come clean now and avoid the repercussions of your parents finding out in the mail.

I didn’t even think about the whole driving thing. That is a good point. When I got mine I didn’t have a license.

So yeah I wouldn’t listen to me and I would probably contact legal aid and if they won’t help contact a lawyer. And if your parents are paying your bills it is time to have a uncomfortable phone call with them.

Was it MIP (Minor in possession)? Or was it drinking and driving.

If it is MIP, you can probably plead “first offense, I learned my lesson” and get off with a fine and a slap on the wrist.

If it is driving while impaired, that’s a whole different offense. What were you ticketed for?

DWI underage is a lot more involved and your parents will know, because the insurance will jump if you are still on their policy. The judge could pull your license until you turn 21.

Can I ask, because you can legally drink here at 18, is a drinking ticket simply related to being caught drinking underage in a bar or similar establishment? How does that affect your driving licence? If you weren’t driving a car, how can such a thing be applied to your driving record?

@Earthbound_Misfit :: When I got mine I was simply under 21 and drinking a beer on a porch when the pigs rolled up.

I’m unsure how it directly relates to your driving record. But I wouldn’t be shocked if the info wasn’t shared with the DMV and insurance companies. And I am totally fine with this. Drunk driving is like my number one pet peeve. And I know that having beers on the porch doesn’t always translate to driving drunk. But it happens a lot and I have the hospital bills to prove it. I was way drunker than the driver of the truck I got into. So I didn’t notice how wasted he was.

And I just learned that the age for buying smokes just went up to 21 here. I smoke and I think that is great.

I’d totally agree if someone was driving while drunk, but sitting on your porch drinking has nothing to do with your driving record. You can’t punish someone for something they might do. I don’t think people should be fined or punished for having the potential to commit a crime.

As I said, our drinking age is younger than yours (18) and I can’t ever recall anyone being charged with underage drinking if they were sitting at home with a beer. If you were in a pub and the police raided it, you might get thrown out and the publican would be charged with serving under-aged people. I can’t recall anyone being charged for buying a drink in a pub – even if they are underage.

Not that this helps the OP. I personally think you’re better calling your mum and dad and telling them you were caught having a beer and see what they say. They were young once. They made mistakes. Unless they are unreasonably strict, trust them to give you a talking to (which you possibly deserve) and to move on.

Should have thought about the consequences before doing it. It’d be better if you keep your parents informed. They are the ones who’ll help you to come out of this mess.

I’m shocked they bother to ticket for this, unless you were especially unruly and out of control.

I have to say I was thinking @johnpowell had a moment of brilliance with the mail forwarding, except thevparents will find out the mail was forwarded, because a notice is sent to the former address. At least I know it is when it’s a permanent move, I’m not 100% positive if that’s the case for a temporary mail forwarding.

I assume this is not a driving while drunk situation, so I’d just go to court probably. I need more details about what happened to really decide what to plea. Did the cops actually see you drink the alcohol? Were you given a breathalyzer?

I’m still shocked that sort of ticket was given to a 19 year old at college. So much of my campus drank like fishes, and there was never a worry about being ticketed for it. Maybe that has changed since I was there.

Do you lose your license even if you aren’t driving? It sounds like a money making scheme, unless the party was out of control and loud and neighbours complained by knocking on the door.

My friends son was not driving and did not lose his license.

Loss of license depends on state. In California, possession, if over 18 and under 21 is a one year license suspension.

Too bad the OP has not answered request for more info.

@JLeslie :: I don’t think they send the change of address thing to your old address. I just did this in October when I moved out of my moms in October. I said change it ASAP and I got the thing notifying it went through at my new address. And that was pretty much al little piece of paper and about 20 coupons for Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond.

My mom is pretty religious about driving over my mail if she got something of mine at her house. She is always looking for a excuse to come over.

This morning she banging on my window because I was up until 7am working and I slept until noon.

So I was actually awake and watching some 30 Rock in my bed and she starts banging on my window and screaming. I screamed “go the fuck away” and she was all, “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t have a hart attack.”

She drove 20 minutes for that. She has my phone number.

^^ Sweet. Make the most of it mate. One day she won’t be there and you will wish she would bang on your window to check you’re okay.

@johnpowell I just asked my husband and he remembers a notice coming to the old address too. But, we have moved so many times maybe we are confused, it’s very possible.