Marijuana.com

atomiks

Greetings -- just throwing a note to see if anyone more knowledgable than I has any advice on the issue.

I was at a concert in wisconsin and had arrived later than some of my friends to the show and was thus directed to a different parking lot. I'm 20 years old and from Minnesota. Since we were late, we wanted to meet up with them and grabbed a few beers (2 in my pockets) and one in my hand. Two of my other friends had beer on them (one had a beer leaking in the pocket since it had burst in the cooler). All weekend people had been tailgating in the parking lots and there was little or no supervision.

Needless to say, I was a bit "foggy" in my judgement at the time and I was walking to the other parking lot where my other friends were. We were walking near a camper when one of my friends noticed the beer gushing in his pocket and stopped, saying "guys i gotta go to the bathroom quick, this is making a mess." Turns out some of the guys sitting at the camper were cops, and it was a cop mobile unit. They heard my friend and stood up, misreading his hesitation as a sign that he was scared of walking past them. They approached us and immediately ushered us towards their camper. Upon getting there, they took the beers and immediately held our hands behind our backs and searched our pockets, while asking if we had ID. We gave them ID and in the process of the search, they found a joint and a little cannabis when searching through my sunglasses case. They immediately wrote up both charges, underage consumption and possession of marijuana. Upon writing all of this up, they released us back to the concert, sans the cannabis and beers.

It was an error in judgement and had I known that random camper was a police unit, i would have never been drinking beer and we planned on hiding the cannabis in a very discrete manner (as the actual search into the concert was rather weak and you actually knew when it was coming). This was the only time and place we ever saw any of these camper units or "more serious" cops.

My questions: #1) Does anything seem wrong with the case? They conducted everything in a very textbook manner, or so it seemed. They were by no means nice but they were professional in conduct.

#2) How long will either of these stay on my record? I live in a different state and go to school in yet another state (although they're all adjacent).

#3) I know it's a tough question...but I was given a 430 dollar possession ticket plus a 250 dollar underage consumption ticket. I do not need to appear in court, but would it be to my advantage to do so? I have friends that have had lesser charges/fines if they went...but I'm not sure.

#4) Do many organizations (law schools, grad schools, jobs) look into this kind of thing? I know they aren't felonies, but I'm just not sure on the manner.

Anyway, apologies for the long write-up, but I wanted to be detailed. Any and all advice/opinions on the issue are welcomed. Thanks

 

BartSimpson

Summerfest?

You should retain an attorney in that location, and work to make this go away completely. Sometimes this is a matter of negotiation and the private attorney will be the only one who can do this. While textbook as far as the LEO's are concerned, there are political issues when folks arrive on vacation and leave on probation. For your future - please be willing to spend a couple thousand dollars for an attorney to get this vaporized. It may mean participating in a "program" or such, but you do not want the record.

You are victim of the Teenage Trifecta, and groups of young male adults are very vulnerable to this attention - if only they would understand this! When you are out with a group of young males, please understand that this always attracts attention of law enforcement.

This camper - was it privately owned or a police unit?

__________________

atomiks

Thanks much...not summerfest but dave matthews at alpine... And these political issues could theoretically help me out? Or what type of negotiation would I possibly be able to derive? I'll look for an attorney in the area. The costs associated would mean talking to my parents...which is another issue given the amount they're paying for tuition. However, they'd agree my future is most important, despite the unpleasant nature of how the original conversation would go. But this would have big ramifications for my future? It's just mind-boggling to me that I could get these charges after years of use, given that i wasn't smoking anything and hadn't had a drop of alcohol ( I blew a 0.002...? ) The camper was a police unit.

BartSimpson

DMB is smart to scale back their venues, Alpine Valley is a nice place to experience the vibe. He can't fill the large venues anymore so I hope he plays the sheds for awhile.

If it means talking to the parental units - so be it. You have a little explaining to do but it isn't the worst thing a parent could face. However, this can be a serious blackmark on your record so it is worth trying to eliminate.

I hate to say it; but it is time to man-up. Either take care of it on your own or talk to your parents about some cash, but this is best resolved by spending some money on a good defense.

atomiks

Note: See specific citation information at bottom of this post.

I just spoke with a local criminal attorney on the issue. He stated that (correct me if i'm wrong as he may not have looked at the citation too closely, and this is a rather big issue) these are in fact just violations and are not criminal. Thus, I would not have a record after them, and should in fact just pay the 675 and shrug it off. He said that if I in fact went to court (which is a 4.5 hour drive + 60 in gas + attorney fees), I may be able to knock off a little of the fine...but it'd probably be less than the expenses to get it. There is no deferment in wisconsin for this. He sounded knowledgable and obviously knows 100x what I know on the issue...my main question -- are both of my citations indeed just violations and not criminal? I'm not that experienced in dealing with citations (i've been nailed for speeding but thats it), so I don't really know exactly which is which. They both say 'violation', but I violated 'crimes' (according to the layman's definition) in both...and unrefined logic, which doesn't hold much water in this type of dispute, would say that any drug-related 'violation' of a local/state/federal law was a 'crime'... that's where my uncertainty comes from. Just want to check!

He asked if either of them said appearance in court was mandatory. The alcohol one says "no" in the checkbox...but there isn't any mention on the marijuana citation of mandatory appearance. The same court date is listed on both, but at different times. There are just 3 sheets of paper...two pink (one for the MIP and another describing the marijuana) and one green specifying the total bond amount of 675 and telling me of my options to plead guilty/etc. Maybe that'd help. I cited the specific statutes above if that helps, and could provide more information if needed. More info can be obtained online at the respective websites for the county and state.

And hey, for all I know, first degree murder is a 'violation' of the law too...but that one is instead 'criminal'...and a felony. A lot worse than having a joint in my pocket and holding a beer [i blew a 0.002]. Serves me right for being a fool though and walking with a beer...just ironic that the time I got a minor was when hadn't had more than a sip of a beer and was surrounded by 35,000 people (largely underage) drinking beer in a parking lot...and the time I got possession of marijuana was a time when I wasn't even/hadn't even been smoking and had very little pot on me. Oh well...teenage (or 20 year old) trifecta...don't be obvious and keep a low profile. Let me know if you have any more information and thanks for all the help.

Does this all seem correct? (other than my editorial digression)

Specific citation information:
Here's some more info about my citations:
For the MIP it's ordinance number 38-34(6) and adopting state statute 125.07(4)(b). The Marijuana one is Ordinance #38-32:
Sec. 38-32. Possession of marijuana.
Subject to the express exceptions set forth at Wis. Stats. § 961.41(3g)(e), the possession by any person of 25 grams or less of marijuana in the county is prohibited. For the purposes of this section, "marijuana" shall have the definition set forth in Wis. Stats. § 961.01(14).
(Ord. No. 122-04/90, § 1, 4-19-90; Ord. No. 345-03/06, pt. I, 3-14-06)
State law references: Authority to adopt, Wis. Stats. § 59.54(25).

References this from wisconsin state law:
59.54(25)
(25) Possession of marijuana. The board may enact and enforce an ordinance to prohibit the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana, as defined in s. 961.01 (14), subject to the exceptions in s. 961.41 (3g) (intro.), and provide a forfeiture for a violation of the ordinance; except that any person who is charged with possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana, or who is charged with possession of any amount of marijuana following a conviction for possession of marijuana, in this state shall not be prosecuted under this subsection. Any ordinance enacted under this subsection applies in every municipality within the county.

...which is subject to this:
961.41(3g)(e)
(e) Tetrahydrocannabinols. If a person possesses or attempts to possess tetrahydrocannabinols included under s. 961.14 (4) (t), or a controlled substance analog of tetrahydrocannabinols, the person may be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 6 months or both upon a first conviction and is guilty of a Class I felony for a 2nd or subsequent offense. For purposes of this paragraph, an offense is considered a 2nd or subsequent offense if, prior to the offender's conviction of the offense, the offender has at any time been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor under this chapter or under any statute of the United States or of any state relating to controlled substances, controlled substance analogs, narcotic drugs, marijuana, or depressant, stimulant, or hallucinogenic drugs.

 

Mamabudz

Can't say for your state -- but the bar for Florida looks at everything including moving traffic infractions.

Get an attorney and make sure you have retained any and all of your legal rights.

atomiks

Even if they are indeed 'violations' as cited above rather than even misdemeanors?

law420

you have to disclose everything on your law school application for most schools anyway. probably enough to keep you from a legal career.

atomiks

just because of that? and why do i have to disclose it if the point of a violation is that i DON'T have a record? man what a fuck-job

BartSimpson

Preaching to the Choir, my friend.

We old farts here know that the life-long consequence of these simple charges are far greater than most youthful adults understand - hence the repetitive answers, lawyer up! When you are filling out that professional license application, or graduate school application, or one for that dream job interview, you must know in your heart that you have done everything legally possible to eliminate this curse.

Understand the difference from your history and your legal "record". While these charges may not be on your legal record, they have become part of your history that you will have to explain - like to your future girlfriend, her parents, your noisy friends and that employer who asks the right question.

If saddled with this, you must dilute the importance of this little episode of history. You must do a lot of good works; volunteer in your community, get good grades in college, help little old ladies across the road, and save several small children from a burning building. People are quick to dimiss your little episode when you have proven yourself a valuable asset to your community with responsibility and integrity, and a touch of bravery.

Do keep us posted.

You also need to make sure you never get another violation . . . so your party is now somewhere private with very limited numbers of people.