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Two Tickets, Have to go to court...
The Death Of Hilarity
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm 17 years old and graduated high school in January. I was on my way from Atlanta to Bluffton, South Carolina to go visit friends in high school, and was in a rush to get there in time to see my best friend who had 2nd lunch. Because I was in a rush and hadn't seen any police officers the entire drive so far, I ended up speeding far more than I should have with a bubbler with marijuana residue in the car. I got pulled over 20 miles outside of Macon in Twiggs county.
Citation Number: #####
Case Number: _______
Charge: Speeding
Code: 406181
Violation Date: 2/8/2008
Court Date: 3/18/2008
Fine Amount: $145.00
Details: 87 in a 70
Citation Number: #####
Case Number: ______
Charge: Possession Of Drug Related Objects
Code: 161332.2
Violation Date: 2/8/2008
Court Date: 3/18/2008
Fine Amount: $275.00
I checked online and I will have to go to court. What should I expect when I go? How should I act, and what should I try to get? Is there anything I can do to lower or expunge the charges? I haven't smoked marijuana since February 10th, and don't plan on smoking any before court, so I'll be clean for the court date.
If you need any other details I'll be glad to provide them.
Citation Number: #####
Case Number: _______
Charge: Speeding
Code: 406181
Violation Date: 2/8/2008
Court Date: 3/18/2008
Fine Amount: $145.00
Details: 87 in a 70
Citation Number: #####
Case Number: ______
Charge: Possession Of Drug Related Objects
Code: 161332.2
Violation Date: 2/8/2008
Court Date: 3/18/2008
Fine Amount: $275.00
I checked online and I will have to go to court. What should I expect when I go? How should I act, and what should I try to get? Is there anything I can do to lower or expunge the charges? I haven't smoked marijuana since February 10th, and don't plan on smoking any before court, so I'll be clean for the court date.
If you need any other details I'll be glad to provide them.
The Death Of Hilarity on
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The second fine I'd try to get reduced because that seems grossly excessive and unjust. $275 for a pipe? Did he scrape it and bring the samples to an acredited lab and they said without a doubt that it was from dope? Just say it's a funky tobacco pipe.
Edit: You're 17. You might be able to have some kind of diversion or something in lieu of the pipe fine.
DoH, what you need to do first is make sure that the drug-related paraphernalia charge doesn't disqualify you from receiving federal aid for school. I doubt it does, but that's something you want to be sure about. If it does, you want to hire a lawyer, because that's thousands upon thousands of dollars out the window if you plan on going to college.
I have no problem paying the speeding ticket, I deserved it for being impatient and rushing on I-16.
He did not scrape it or anything, just smelled it. I told him that I had been smoking a hookah for hours the day before (true), and had used flavored tobacco in the pipe (true), but he smelled it and wrote "pipe with marijuana residue" on the ticket (also true).
I have a 16 year old friend who got possession of marijuana charge recently and he got nothing more than SMART program for four saturdays. He didn't even have to go to court. It was in South Carolina though.
I have tried to google for that Than, but have gotten no useful results unfortunately. My dad makes over 200k a year, so it is unlikely I'll be able to get federal aid for college anyway, but considering how angry my parents are with me about my drug usage, I need to find out in case they decide to make me pay for my own college, in which case I will desperately need federal aid.
Go to court, don't say jack shit until spoken to, don't admit to anything, and get your ass a lawyer if you can afford one. Pay your fines, say "yes sir, no sir, thank you sir" and be respectful of the system. Now is not the time to show off how much of a badass you think you are, because the judge does not give a flying fuck.
Voice of experience talking.
How am I supposed to not admit to anything? I probably will not be getting a lawyer, just going to court with my parents, dressing nicely, and being respectful.
The court is 3 and a half hours away so I'm hoping to get off with just fines and not have the drug paraphernalia charge go on my record or anything like that, but I am woefully ignorant of the laws.
e: Looks like you've got that handled.
The other advice in this thread is good so i dont need to elaborate.
How would admitting that the bubbler is yours and you use it to smoke drugs help you in any way whatsoever?
It wouldn't, but I'm not sure how I could deny it without making a fool of myself or lying to the judge. I also don't remember what all I told the police and I'm pretty sure they'd have the whole thinig on tape.
I would lime that if liming weren't passé. In the next state over from Georgia, possession of paraphernalia can include a sentence of up to 1 year and a fine of up to $6000 (it's punished the same way as possession of marijuana, except you don't lose your driver's license for paraphernalia and the second conviction for marijuana becomes a felony).* $275 isn't that much for the offense in my experience, but court costs will enhance that substantially.
EDIT to include actual advice: You'll really, really want to get a lawyer for any offense having to do with drugs or drug related objects. Save yourself a lot of grief.
The deep South has some draconian drug laws, which is why I think any of my friends who do drugs down here are major dumbasses.
*: Interesting side note: if an officer swears to your complaint in a county court, those are the penalties. If the officer goes to a municipal court, the penalties for the same offense are $500 and six months maximum. There's got to be an equal protection challenge in there somewhere.
I'm really curious because I always under the assumption that unless I was actually intoxicated or given the officer a reason to believe they should search my vehicle that that wouldn't happen. I've gotten two tickets myself, both infractions, and I wasn't even asked to step out of the vehicle let alone have it searched.
Well, we have this wonderful document that has a few add-ons to it, such as number five here...let's see, what does it say...
"No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself ..."
When the officer came up to the car I had the window partially rolled down but not all the way. He asked for license, I gave it to him, and he asked if I had anything in the car he needed to know about and I said no. The bubbler was in the front pocket of a bookbag in the passenger seat. He went back to his car and was sitting there for a minute when another police SUV pulled up behind him. This kind of worried me, because I thought who needs two police SUV's to write one 17 year old a speeding ticket?
Another officer stepped out of the second SUV and was followed by a drug dog. The dog started walking around my car, hit on it, and I was asked to step out of the car. The second officer started searching my car while the first one patted me down multiple times, I guess because he was convinced I had marijuana on me despite me telling him otherwise quite a few times. They then searched my trunk and my wallet, found rolling papers and cigarettes and took those, and asked me how often I smoked marijuana which I told them I wasn't going to answer that question.
When they were finally convinced that I didn't have a hidden stash of marijuana they had me sign both tickets, confiscated the bubbler, rolling papers, and cigarettes, and let me go. It's kind of difficult to remember all the details now, but that is what I can remember of what happened.
Wait, did you consent to a search? Someone please educate me on this.
Up here they have to have two officers to do a drug search (it might actually be two departments. Every time I've seen it they have a local cop and a state cop present).
You have to be 18, that's why they took it, but they don't care enough or it's not bad enough so I'm not going to get punished for the tobacco. It was my understanding that if a drug dog hit on your car you no longer had the right to refuse a search of it. I don't recall even being directly asked if they could search my car, but my memory of the incident is not clear.
That's why I asked originally. The drug dog's reaction constitutes probable cause. They don't need your consent after that.
Don't they still need a warrant?
EDIT: after looking it up, yes they still need a warrant or your consent to search the car. The probable cause just gives them the authority to request a warrant.(someone correct me if I'm wrong)
EDIT EDIT: Scratch that, apparently:
Motor vehicle exception
Main article: Motor vehicle exception
The Supreme Court has also held that individuals in automobiles have a reduced expectation of privacy, because vehicles generally do not serve as residences or repositories of personal effects. Vehicles may not be randomly stopped and searched; there must be probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Items in "plain view" may be seized; areas that could potentially hide weapons may also be searched. With probable cause, police officers may search any area in the vehicle. They may not, however, extend the search to the vehicle's passengers without probable cause to search those passengers or consent from the passenger(s) to search their persons or effects.
They never informed me of any probable cause, and it was in no way in plain view. They also searched me personally and it was not phrased as a question in any way. More of a "now get out of the car and put your arms out so I can pat you down again."
If the dog alerts to there being drugs in the car, they can search the car. No warrant or permission needed.
Go to court, dress like you would if you were being charged with killing a baby. Shave and cut your hair. Get a lawyer.
If you're lucky, you won't end up with a drug charge on your record. I know a guy who got busted with pot and a pipe in his car, which if convicted would result in loss of driver's license. He got a cheap ($300 iirc) lawyer and successfully got the charges reduced to disorderly conduct, which entailed a fine and no criminal record.
It's worth it to take this seriously, because it can bite you in the ass, particularly if you end up getting busted again. Though you're a juvenile, so you will probably be able to seal your records after you turn 18.