Is that even legal...I did nothing wrong?

[chavivi]

The other night my sister and I received a call from her boyfriend. It turns out that her boyfriend was drinking at a party and needed a ride home. I knew of the parties location, so my sister and I went to pick him up and drive him home. We did not want him endangering himself as well as others if he were to drive. Well, once we arrived at the location (which was on private property), we proceeded to find her boyfriend (he is 23) and ready him to leave with us;safely! As we were readying to leave, the party was busted by authorities (who did not have a warrant) and everyone there was required to give the officer their name, address, and D.O.B Both my sister and I gave the officer the information because we had nothing to lose. We were simply helping out someone in need. Neither of us had a sip of alcohol. We both told the lady officer that we had just arrived to the party and she wrote next to our names that statement about us just arriving. Well, two days later, I call up the police station to see what is going to happen since the cops have my sister's and my name. The sargeant officer proceeds to tell me that everyone who was there will receive an underage citation. I am 18 and my sister is 20. We both have a lot going for us...My sister has just settled into her new career and is getting her life started while I am about to begin nursing school in the upcoming semester. Neither of us were breathalyzed so how in the world could we be cited for underage when there is absolutely no proof that we were drinking. The sargeant said that the three cops that busted the party are going to sit down and determine who gets citations based on who "smelled" like alcohol. How in the world can somebody remember who SMELLED like alcohole three days after the incident occurred. We are both innocent and we are getting screwed over for attempting a good dead and now our names are being dragged through the mud. Defamation of character much! Will a magistrate see the truth (which is my truth) or will he listen to the lies? Do you think I will receive a citation because once the officers go through the lady officer's notebook and see that my sister and I "just came to party?" I am really angry about this because it will take up to a month to know if a citation is going to be sent, and I will be three hours away at college.

[jaren12]

get a lawyer, if no breathalyzer or any form of testing was done they can't do anything to you for simply being somewhere. you can't get arrested for your parents having a party while you're in the house.

[koltin]

if they send you one take it to court and fight it, theres no proof since they didnt breathalize you. so they cant give you a citation.

[tupac]

If it gets that far, you are still entitled to a trial by jury, and it'll depend upon how well they can convince a jury that you are guilty. Merely being at a party where lots of minor are drinking and there's alcohol everywhere can get you an MIP if you're underage (whether you're drinking or not). The police don't need a warrant if the party was causing a disturbance or if it was pretty obvious that there were minors drinking at the party.

Odds are the sergeant just gave you the generic response for what's going to happen to the people found at the party without looking up your case in particular. Merely telling the officer that you just arrived at the party might not have been a good enough explanation. If it were, then I'd guess that at least 2/3 of the other party goers would have said the same thing (if not all of them). Did the lady officer make any other notations next to your name (with regards to your demonstrated sobriety)?

[emek]

For a start, the police did not need a warrant to enter the party.
As far as you and your sister, if it even gets to court, you and your sister should have nothing to fear, but if possible, get a lawyer to represent you. I have a suspicion nothing will come of this whole episode, as it was probably just a show of force to try and wake some of the people up to their stupidity.

[ji]

That is soooooooooo unfair.
You have to fight all the way for this. You NEED to keep telling the officer that you didn't have a sip of alcohol and that you were just trying to bring someone in need home safely. NEVER, ever give up because you can't have this following you. And persist, because if you don't persist and if you are not 100% into it, they might have the truth about weather you're telling the truth or not.
You need to keep fighting for justice because you and your sister don't deserve this and you need to fix this!
Hope the truth will win over!:) good luck!

[barclay76]

A warrant was not required under these conditions - so your statement that the officers busted the party without a warrant is irrelevant.

I'm not sure why you are so revved up over this. You are expending an awful lot of energy and anger over a lot of "what ifs." But I would recommend that you stop calling the station and I would say that the absolute WORST possible thing you could have done was to call the station. You never borrow trouble and you certainly don't draw attention to yourself - because if the officer is incline to issue you a citation, you had better believe the officer will now be on notice to write a good report to justify that report.

But I'd suggest you focus on the realities of the situation: If your sister's bf called for a ride, then only one of you needed to go pick him up. And neither of you actually needed to enter the party - you could have simply sent him a text to meet you out front. The reality is that you were two underaged individuals who are physically at a party where underage drinking was taking place. You are likely not going to be entitled to the benefit of the doubt - and if the officer writes a report that states she smelled alcohol on you, you could be found guilty of the offense.

Again, though, stressing over it seems to be an awfully big waste of time. There is nothing you can do except to wait and see if you get a citation in the mail. If that happens, then you can deal with it.

[tai38]

A warrant was not required under these conditions - so your statement that the officers busted the party without a warrant is irrelevant.

I'm not sure why you are so revved up over this. You are expending an awful lot of energy and anger over a lot of "what ifs." But I would recommend that you stop calling the station and I would say that the absolute WORST possible thing you could have done was to call the station. You never borrow trouble and you certainly don't draw attention to yourself - because if the officer is incline to issue you a citation, you had better believe the officer will now be on notice to write a good report to justify that report.

But I'd suggest you focus on the realities of the situation: If your sister's bf called for a ride, then only one of you needed to go pick him up. And neither of you actually needed to enter the party - you could have simply sent him a text to meet you out front. The reality is that you were two underaged individuals who are physically at a party where underage drinking was taking place. You are likely not going to be entitled to the benefit of the doubt - and if the officer writes a report that states she smelled alcohol on you, you could be found guilty of the offense.

Again, though, stressing over it seems to be an awfully big waste of time. There is nothing you can do except to wait and see if you get a citation in the mail. If that happens, then you can deal with it.

Illegal, but, since this never happened, it's nothing to worry about.