Well folks, tomorrow I have a court date for MIP of alcohol, illegal camping, and littering. I also got a warning on POSSESSION of MARIJUANA! In DADE COUNTY, GEORGIA, a county that is at least 150 years ago, gave me a warning on possession. I am so happy and grateful for that. But I also feel I was wrongly charged with the remaining charges. I was given a breathalyzer, and score .00. All the beer cans that I was in "possession" of were OUTSIDE of the tent, all empty. It's not like they were scattered around or anything, they were simply piled outside the tent, to be cleaned in the morning. My buddy with me, however, was pretty intoxicated and yet I'm the one to still be charged with MIP. Here's to hoping that I can get at least two of the charges dismissed. I also hope the judge doesn't pull a "you were lucky enough to get a warning on possession, be happy you weren't charged with that, GUILTY."
That warning you got means it NEVER happened. The judge can't pull that shit on you because he wouldn't know the cop gave you a warning for it. Also, if you weren't actually in posession of the beer cans, I don't see how they can charge you with an MIP especially becasue you blew a .00... a good lawyer should get some of these charges dismissed. Good luck staying out of the system homie.. It's no place you want to find yourself in.
EXACTLY. But I got a written warning on the same citation that the MIP was written on, so she WILL see it, it just depends on how corrupt she is. (which I have BTW talked to her on the phone). And also, the wild life ranger or whatever he was who cited me never put the results of my breathalyzer on my citation, so for all she knows I'm just making it up. One more thing, for somebody who may know something about laws... the judge told me even if I just paid the fine and left the citations on my record, that it wouldn't show up on my criminal record. It would just be a record for Wildlife & Game. Is this true? Because my lawyer here in TN said that it WOULD be on my criminal record. Would the judge really lie to me? I'm interested because I'm really concerned about having to put that on job applications, and it showing up on a standard background check.
Ok guys, did a LOT of researching to find this... goes to show how full of shit my lawyer is: That can be useful for anybody living/visiting in Georgia. I highly recommend reading it if you will be in the state. I guess I can just hope the judge will take mercy on me...
It's probably too late now, but you should have lawyered up. If your current attorney was unwilling to challenge the original charges and everything you've told us about the incident was accurate, you should have sucked it up and spent the money to hire a private attorney who would be more willing to fight on your behalf. I could be entirely wrong, but it sounds like you went with the public defender option.
Definitely do your research before you go to make sure you know your shit so the judge can't corner you. Georgia judges are known for that. If you are respectful and go in with a good attitude and know about your charges/laws, you should be fine. Just don't forget to explain your side, sometimes judges like to talk the entire time without letting you tell your side of the story, so try and make that known.
My lawyer here in TN apparently isn't qualified to work in Georgia courts... but anyhow I went into court today, tried to pull some charm and explain my side of the story. She said really the only way I could get my buddy to take fault for the beer was to bring him in, and he doesn't have enough cash to pay the fines so he's not going to show up so I didn't want to get him in trouble so I went ahead a pled guilty... There goes $430.