[Banjomike0319]

Hello all you Kind people,

So, This weekend was a disaster. Friday night I recieved my first ever D.U.I., along with my very fisrt possesion.

I was drinking ( I think I was drugged), I had two bloody Mary's and a shot at a bar. Went to go drop my friend off at her house, with a hell of a driveway. I made it all the way up and down it.

I was going to go head home, and sleep, but I dont remember going the wrong way on the highway, going th opposite direction to my house and city.

I woke up in the ditch, not knowing were I was ( I thought I was about a mile down the road from my friends house. I was wrong I was about 20 mins from there, almost in the next city not anywhere close to my house.

Scared not knowing what was going on, I called my friend, then 10 mins later the Berry's and Cherry's came. Passed my sobriaty test, except for the eye's and I didn't say one one thousand when I walked a straight line ( yes, I walked a straight line), I blew a .16(double the limit here in Wisconsin), got placed in the back of the cop car, watched him go through all my stuff in my car, found a quarter of the best buds in the world, ( a strain called "The Dude") But he didn't find my peice. He took my Grinder, and Buds, but that was it.

After I got fully booked and ready to leave, they gave me all my tickets, but there wasn't a possesion ticket in it????

I think the Cop stole my buds, and space case.

WTF, I'm afraid to call and ask whats going on with it.

Any suggestions guy's?

[GratefulPat]

well bm.. im in milwaukee, and im getting knocked with a felony for my 2nd poss of 3 grams or less... so good luck.. if you have no poss ticket yet, u prob arent getting one, dont call anyone or mention it

[Rev_Roach]

Find a lawyer who does mostly traffic/vehicle stuff. Go ahead and look into defensive driving classes, lawyer will probably be recommending one. First time you can hopefully avoid losing the license.

Sounds like you ducked the pot charge but take a look here just in case: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4573

If you really think you were drugged then call your doctor RIGHT NOW and see if he can set you up with a lab. If you can go there today (most date rape kind of shit, GHB or whatever fades very fast) and give urine sample maybe you can show that you were drugged. No idea if that helps your case or not. Being that you are probably going to show a few other substances as well I would guess not.

Good luck.

[amyjared]

Wow, sounds pretty crazy. Don't say a thing about the possession and it might go away. Or, they might be looking at a way to throw more charges at you later. Doubtful.

As for what you could do, I can offer little, but for what you should have done and for others, here is the advice my lawyer gave me:

Always have a small pint of liquor in the glovebox. That way, when you are sitting there after the ordeal, you drink it and when the cops show, they can't know if you were drinking before the accident/altercation or not. Then, refuse a breathalyzer. They will threaten you (and in most states you lose your license for a year) but it makes it much much tougher to convict you without that as evidence. A good lawyer would have you off. Lastly, don't drink and drive. Good luck!

[Tennessee Jedi]

Good luck to both of you.
At 39 I feel lucky to not have been busted.
With in the last year Ive gotten pretty paranoid about driving with the Devils Herb ( I bet "the Dude" wreaked ).
I Never carry anything in my pockets - not even that lighter with the funny weed residue all over it.Just in case I do get pulled over Im hoping with nothing on me I might not call too much attention to myself.
Lately Ill roll some jays and put them in my spare set of strings in my guitar case.No bowl is a plus.
Some weed is just too stank to drive with.
No more than three or four beers either at practice - besides wanting to play well its just not worth it.I have a long drive to and from jamming world.
Once 5 or 6 years ago I was coming from a practice in the middle of the night and was shit faced drunk.
I went around a corner and saw this wreaked car and the driver was ejected - dudes it was crazy.
I stopped and did what little I could - but other peps just drove by.I think they were drunk too.I was lucky -someone else showed up and talked to the cops - and I didnt get busted.I got a free pass that night.
Since then Ive been really careful about drinking and driving.
Again good luck to you guys.I really hope it works out for you.

[Dozin]

2 drinks and a shot gave you a .16? Is that even possible?

[Banjomike0319]

Thanks guy's for the all the feed back, I have a family friend that I just remembered who is a public affender.

I'm gonna give her a call and go over everything with her. Hopefully get my assestment taken care of before my court date.


And Dozin: I have no idea, I know I can handle my liquor. There is no way in hell that I could have been that drunk off of those drinks. I've drank that much before and drove straight as an arrow.

[Mick]

As for what you could do, I can offer little, but for what you should have done and for others, here is the advice my lawyer gave me:

Always have a small pint of liquor in the glovebox. That way, when you are sitting there after the ordeal, you drink it and when the cops show, they can't know if you were drinking before the accident/altercation or not. Then, refuse a breathalyzer. They will threaten you (and in most states you lose your license for a year) but it makes it much much tougher to convict you without that as evidence. A good lawyer would have you off. Lastly, don't drink and drive. Good luck!

This sounds like a devastatingly bad idea to me. Here in NJ, if you wrecked your car and the cop drives up and you are sitting there drinking a pint of liquor, you will be up shit's creek in about 10 seconds flat. The definition of drunk driving here does not specify that you must be operating the vehicle at the time. It has been in the papers numerous times about folks going to parties, getting really drunk, deciding the better of driving home and crashing in their backseat to sleep it off, the next thing they know, the cops are hauling them off for DUI because they were in the car and drunk. Maybe the law sucks, but that is what it is. By the way, if you follow the above here, you will not only get DUI, but a citation for an open container in your car, probably another citation for drinking in public, and yes, you will lose your license for a year for refusing the breathalyzer. Before doing something like this, you need to ask yourself, "how much trouble do I really want to get in?".

[old man down]

The Dude being the quality it was is why it never was part of the charges. Cops are always pocketing the kind.

That and the fact that the law usually shows a little sympathy to a wreck when no one gets hurt. Sort of like you already got your punishment.

But you're still in the thick of things, so straighten up and fly right.

[I'm on the Bozo Bus]

Just my opinion... but...
I would fess up to everything they ask about and you are guilty of. It WILL be a pain in the a$$ for a while, but I have learned through experience, that the more you fight, the more they will fight. stepping up and saying "I screwed up" will allow the DA to look at you a little differently. There are MANY if's in that last statement. If you have no previous record, and generally a decent citizen and they have no need to make an expample out of you, this to shall pass.

Now... my story will change if they start trying to hang stuff on you like intent to distribute etc...
Drop the bucks on a lawyer, sympathetic to the CAUSE and fight.

final advice.... Get a local cab company business card. When in doubt... Call a cab. I've never been busted in cab.... Well except for that one time... She looked 18.... and female....

$.02 worth...
Good luck and,
PEACE

[Rev_Roach]

I would fess up to everything they ask about and you are guilty of.

Are you kidding me? Not trying to be a dick but that's about the worst legal advice I've ever heard. Those are decisions for a lawyer to make, and even then, any pleas/confessions should be made to the prosecutor. NOT TO THE COPS. And of course, that concerns things that they have charged you of. Not probing questions of things they "kind of know" and certainly do not volunteer anything new or unrelated. Most likely you will never directly speak to any prosecutor, thats lawyer terrority to get you the best plea bargain possible. Trial is pretty much out of the question, they are very expensive and this case is way too small to justify it.

Prosecutors need to work for a convinction, and thats why they accept pleas to smaller crimes even when they know you're guilty. Never hand them anything on a silver platter.

[krzykat]

its your 1st offense right? If Minn. is anything like N.J. the Lawyers will be sending you letters (they all look at the police pages in the papers) call a few, don't just take the first one you hear from. if they didn't give you a ticket for poss. then FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT!!! know your rights and good luck

[gratephulphish123]

i hide my stash inside my stearing wheel, noone ever thinks to look there

[big_river_bum]

"The definition of drunk driving here does not specify that you must be operating the vehicle at the time. It has been in the papers numerous times about folks going to parties, getting really drunk, deciding the better of driving home and crashing in their backseat to sleep it off, the next thing they know, the cops are hauling them off for DUI because they were in the car and drunk. "

i'm pretty sure that's what it is in wisconsin. my yonder tour buddy is a pretty bad alcoholic and said he used to pull into waysides or gas stations and would throw his keys under the car before passing out in the back. he said they couldn't ticket you if you had no key(couldn't drive it), but that seems unlikely to me. they know you had to drive the car there somehow.

on the topic of drunk driving and hilarity, my roommate last year pulled a trick straight out of "providence". in the movie the main character runs into a parked cop car while hitting a bong. my buddy(who is underage) left a bar in our hometown at 2:30 and was pulling through the gravel parking lot and a cop was parked behind the bar. as he came around the corner he slammed right into the cop. i guess he got belligerent with the cops and was being an asshole. i don't know how he could argue with them. at that point instead of admitting he was in the wrong he was going for it all. i've driven once when i knew i shouldn't have and seeing the results of others actions has made me resolute not to ever do it again. its epidemic like here in wisconsin. just imagine if you killed someone or someone you loved was hurt

[krzykat]

if you are in the car with the keys on you (inside the car with you) then you can get a ticket for DUI! if the keys are in the trunk then you are all good