My 18 year old was arrested for possession/purchase of alcohol under 21.She was a passenger in a vehicle. The driver was not arrested. Anoth...

Question

My 18 year old was arrested for possession/purchase of alcohol under 21.

She was a passenger in a vehicle. The driver was not arrested. Another passenger who admitted drinking was not arrested. She felt forced and blew 0.03. She is on prescription meds, and taking cough meds OTC. She was not read her rights. There was no alcohol present. The officer told her she was arrested for lying. What recourse is there? Should we try to fight this at her court date.

Answer

Unless you want your 18 year old to have a criminal record following her around for the rest of her adult life, the person who should be answering your questions is a good criminal lawyer. Posting detailed information about the arrest and what she was taking is a really bad idea.

Answer

Your recourse is to obtain the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney, who will be able to help you and your child navigate the challenges faced when someone is arrested. I would be happy to give you a free telephone consultation an answer any questions you may have.

Answer

Yes, you need to fight this. Paying the ticket or entering into a plea will result in a permanent mark on her criminal record. At the very least, an attorney could help you get this handles through a pretrial diversion program so that no conviction is entered and the charges are dismissed. You could then have the arrest itself expunged. This sounds like a weak case for the state to begin with, so don't let her have this affect her permanently.