Source: https://www.vaduilawyer.com/dwi-dui-manual/chapter-13-other-alcohol-drug-offenses/underage-possession-of-alcohol/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 16:16:18
Document Index: 470435859

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 4', '§ 18', '§ 16', '§ 22', '§ 18', '§ 46']

Virginia Code 4.1-305 Underage Possession of Alcohol » VA DWI/DUI Manual
Home » Virginia DWI/DUI Manual » Chapter 13: Other Alcohol & Drug Offenses » Virginia Code 4.1-305 Underage Possession of Alcohol
How can I be charged with underage possession of alcohol when I didn’t have any alcohol on me?
The law in Virginia makes it illegal for people under 21 to “consume, purchase, possess, or attempt to consume, purchase or possess” alcohol. So you don’t have to have alcohol “with” or “on” you as long as it is “in” you.
However, charging underage drinkers with possession for having alcohol in their blood does raise some unique legal defenses. The law calls it “venue” – or – what court has the jurisdiction to try you?
The Code outlines where you may be tried: “Such person may be prosecuted either in the county or city in which the alcohol was possessed or consumed, or in the county or city in which the person exhibits evidence of physical indicia of consumption of alcohol.” Virginia Code § 4.1-305(A). The problem is that officers don’t usually ask where you purchased or consumed the alcohol. They just know where they’ve stopped you. If we exclude the preliminary breath test, we can usually challenge venue.
I blew into a breathalyzer. I didn’t think they could use the results in court. Can they?
Maybe. The Code of Virginia says that the results of a preliminary breath test cannot be used by the prosecution for DUI or “baby DUI.” Virginia Code § 18.2-267. There is no exemption for underage possession of alcohol. The Attorney General of Virginia, in a 2013 opinion, confirmed that a preliminary breath test can be used to prosecute underage possession.
This does not mean that a positive preliminary breath test always equates to conviction. Even the Attorney General agrees that a “proper foundation” for the breath test device must be established. Many officers have never been challenged to lay a foundation.
At Tillotson & Martin, we train other attorneys how to beat breath tests. The preliminary breath tests use the same fuel cell technology as the EC/IR II breath test device. The same defenses can be used.
Stop, search, seizure, and Miranda issues also lead to common defenses.
How can they prove underage possession if they never gave me a breath test?
The law criminalizes underage consuming, possessing and purchasing. If you told the officer you drank alcohol earlier – that can be enough. If the officer testifies that you had signs of intoxication – you slurred, swayed, had red glassy bloodshot eyes, and smelled of alcohol – that may be enough.
Why are they treating me like I have a DWI – I just drank a beer?
IF you are 18, 19, or 20
The penalties for DWI are very similar to underage possession of alcohol penalties for adults. Both are class 1 misdemeanors with maximums of 1 year in jail and a $2500 fine. The minimum mandatory fine is twice that of a DWI ($500 versus $250 for a DWI) though you can do 50 hours of community service instead.
The license suspension is for 6 months to 1 year even if there was no vehicle involved. A referral to ASAP (the Alcohol Safety Action Program) is up to the judge.
There is no way to expunge a conviction in Virginia. Once a misdemeanor is on your record, it will always be on your record. Whenever you apply for a job or school, you will have to check the box that you have a criminal conviction.
If you are under 18: your license will be suspended for 6 months, or, your ability to apply for a license will be delayed for 6 months. The juvenile judge may give you first offender status and dismiss the charge. Virginia Code 16.1-278.9
Is there a first offender program for underage possession?
Yes there is. Here are the conditions:
1) you need to be 18 or over;
2) never been convicted of underage possession before in any state in the United States;
3) the judge agrees to it
What will happen if I take the first offender program?
1) may require a license suspension but a restricted license may be granted. If no driving was involved, you have a better chance of not getting your license suspended;
2) must order education and/or treatment;
3) will put you on probation; typically for 6 months to a year.
IF you finish probation successfully, the underaged possession charge will be dismissed. If you mess up, the judge can enter a guilty verdict.
Do I have to plead guilty to get first offender?
No. This is one of the great things about Virginia’s first offender program: there’s no penalty for trying to win! If we lose, we can still ask the judge for first offender. Most judges will not hold it against you if your attorney tries for a “not guilty.”
Why should I hire an attorney if I can just get first offender?
Even with a dismissal under first offender, you will never be able to expunge the arrest for underage consumption or possession of alcohol off your record. An “actual finding of innocence” is required to expunge your record. The arrest can follow you through schooling and into your career.
Where will I be tried?
If you are a minor, your trial will take place in juvenile court. For young adults who are 18, 19, or 20 you will be tried in general district court.
“Alcoholic beverages” includes alcohol, spirits, wine, and beer, and any one or more of such varieties containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, including mixed alcoholic beverages, and every liquid or solid, patented or not, containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer and capable of being consumed by a human being. Any liquid or solid containing more than one of the four varieties shall be considered as belonging to that variety which has the higher percentage of alcohol, however obtained, according to the order in which they are set forth in this definition; except that beer may be manufactured to include flavoring materials and other nonbeverage ingredients containing alcohol, as long as no more than 49 percent of the overall alcohol content of the finished product is derived from the addition of flavors and other nonbeverage ingredients containing alcohol for products with an alcohol content of no more than six percent by volume; or, in the case of products with an alcohol content of more than six percent by volume, as long as no more than one and one-half percent of the volume of the finished product consists of alcohol derived from added flavors and other nonbeverage ingredients containing alcohol.
§ 16.1-278.9. Delinquent children; loss of driving privileges for alcohol, firearm, and drug offenses; truancy
A1. If a court finds that a child at least 13 years of age has failed to comply with school attendance and meeting requirements as provided in § 22.1-258, the court shall order the denial of the child’s driving privileges for a period of not less than 30 days. If such failure to comply involves a child under the age of 16 years and three months, the child’s ability to apply for a driver’s license shall be delayed for a period of not less than 30 days following the date he reaches the age of 16 and three months.
If the court finds a second or subsequent such offense, it may order the denial of a driver’s license for a period of one year or until the juvenile reaches the age of 18, whichever is longer, or delay the child’s ability to apply for a driver’s license for a period of one year following the date he reaches the age of 16 and three months, as may be appropriate.
The Department of Motor Vehicles shall refuse to issue a driver’s license to any child denied a driver’s license until such time as is stipulated in the court order or until notification by the court of withdrawal of the order of denial under subsection E.
The court, in its discretion and upon a demonstration of hardship, may authorize the use of a restricted permit to operate a motor vehicle by any child who has a driver’s license at the time of the offense or at the time of the court’s finding as provided in subsection A1 for any of the purposes set forth in subsection E of § 18.2-271.1 or for travel to and from school, except that no restricted license shall be issued for travel to and from home and school when school-provided transportation is available and no restricted license shall be issued if the finding as to such child involves a violation designated under clause (iii) or (iv) of subsection A, or if it involves a second or subsequent violation of any offense designated in subsection A or a second finding by the court of failure to comply with school attendance and meeting requirements as provided in subsection A1. The issuance of the restricted permit shall be set forth within the court order, a copy of which shall be provided to the child, and shall specifically enumerate the restrictions imposed and contain such information regarding the child as is reasonably necessary to identify him. The child may operate a motor vehicle under the court order in accordance with its terms. Any child who operates a motor vehicle in violation of any restrictions imposed pursuant to this section shall be guilty of a violation of § 46.2-301.