Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan
I live in Michigan and my friend and I were stopped for me not wearing a seatbelt. In the course of us getting pulled over the officer realized that we had four 6- packs of smirnoff ice in my backseat. We were both unaware that they were even sitting in my back seat at the time of the ticket. The alcohol was still in it packaging and still in the bags that they were allegedly purchased in as well. It happened to also be my 19th birthday when we were pulled over and I was given a MIP and a seatbelt ticket, as well as my friend receiving a MIP. Is there something I can do in order for this charge to go away. I am not a big drinker and was just driving over to my friends house to talk when getting pulled over. It was 4:12 in the afternoon and a second officer asked me to do a PBT and blew a .000, since we hadn't even been planning on drinking this day either. The officer also asked for my dads name and birthday, which i found irrelevant and don't know why he did. Is there anything that i can do about this situation or will it end up on my record?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Michigan law allows officers to pull a car over when a driver is not wearing a seat belt. You are stuck with that ticket. As for the MIP, did you tell the officer the smirinoff ice was yours? If you did - that's possession. I need more information to provide more of an answer.
You need to challenge the MIP charge. It sounds like you have a good defense but needs to explored by gathering information in the hands of the police and prosecutors. Your attorney should demand police reports and other evidence to challenge the stop and/or arrest. Don't just plead guilty to the charge as you have options. You don't want a criminal record. Contact Daniel Hajji to discuss your matter at 248.865.4700 or visit us at www.hajjilaw.com
"We were both unaware that they were even sitting in my back seat at the time of the ticket. The alcohol was still in it packaging and still in the bags that they were allegedly purchased in as well."
You might try rethinking this otherwise hard to believe explanation. Your case can be processed so that nothing gets into your record without the necessity of obfuscation.
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