got busted and need some help....

Dirty Harry said:

Does your area have a bottle deposit law? If so, and if you didn't have any unopened beverages in the car also...you could press that they were there because you pick them up for the deposit.
For the smoking, you did admit it and they found it. Sorry about that, but maybe you can get the open container tossed.

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yea. part of the reason i did not toss them in the street is because well i dont like tossing things and i was going to recycle them (they were empty). yea they found it. does anyone know whether or not police have cause to search the car if it smells like weed? anyways thanks for all the moral support.

probable cause matey. cops are trained to look in your ashtray. they find a roach ur gettin searched.

hmm. thats why i didnt want to lie to the police. i know they would have probably gotten on more shit... i wasnt smoking at the time but i was before. either way i think the police wanted to get me someway or another.

can't get ya if you ain't got a thing on you.

in some states, it is a mandatory probation (one year, small fine but no jail time and counts as misdemeanor) for first time offenders (marijuana possesion); hopefully your state is one of those..

pismomonkey said:

yea. part of the reason i did not toss them in the street is because well i dont like tossing things and i was going to recycle them (they were empty). yea they found it. does anyone know whether or not police have cause to search the car if it smells like weed? anyways thanks for all the moral support.

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Bro, The longer you play this game the clearer it will be that the "COPS" can do whatever they want really... Allot of the times them not following the protocol/law especially on camera will allow you to get off due to a technicality with a good lawyer. So, Do your part for yourself and your lawyer and dont offer anything. Am i being arrested?, should be your favorite phrase. they ask i smell weed you been smoking... you say no and i dont smell anything. (make sure to look at them like they are lying too... lol )

anyway man im waaaay medicated right now and ramblin... gotta go do some festivus!

genfranco said:

Bro, The longer you play this game the clearer it will be that the "COPS" can do whatever they want really... Allot of the times them not following the protocol/law especially on camera will allow you to get off due to a technicality with a good lawyer. So, Do your part for yourself and your lawyer and dont offer anything. Am i being arrested?, should be your favorite phrase. they ask i smell weed you been smoking... you say no and i dont smell anything. (make sure to look at them like they are lying too... lol )

anyway man im waaaay medicated right now and ramblin... gotta go do some festivus!

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thanks. that is pretty good advice. but it seems that opd preys on people who dont have much money to hire a lawyer (including me, starving college student). anyways, its just a life lesson. but thanks im feeling way better with all your advice, does anyone know where i can get some free legal counsel in the east bay? (cali)

im no lawyer but you can easily get outa this because they illegaly searched ur car and its not a crime to have empty alchol bottles in your car its only if there is alchol in them that it would be a crime. you can say you were bringing the bottles back for money hell the cops shoulda breathalizered you and seen you were sober. get a lawyer for sure and counter sew for any damage property and pain and suffering, loss of wages or what not if it cut into your work in any way.

duff420 said:

im no lawyer but you can easily get outa this because they illegaly searched ur car and its not a crime to have empty alchol bottles in your car its only if there is alchol in them that it would be a crime. you can say you were bringing the bottles back for money hell the cops shoulda breathalizered you and seen you were sober. get a lawyer for sure and counter sew for any damage property and pain and suffering, loss of wages or what not if it cut into your work in any way.

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yea they let me drive away. i wasnt high or anything or drunk. it just smelled like weed in the car. i knew that if i lied they were probably going to go in the car anyways, and corporation with them and not lying will probably help me out with the judge. the charges arnt that bad because its california. i had my keys in but the ignition was not on so i dont know if they can drop the possesion while driving (probably not). i really cant afford a lawyer and dont think it is cost effective. does anyone know if they have to state that they are searching your car? because they didnt..

so i was looking up california law. i cant get in trouble for the open container. the bottles were empty and they didnt take them away as evidence or whatever.

when i was asked was i smoking tonight, i said yes but the question was ambigious. i was smoking before i got there, i could have been smoking at home before.. it would be silly of me to say that i didnt smoke when i smelled like it. my university has free consultations with a lawyer so ill be having a talk with one soon. seeing as the police officer did not witness me smoking i probably can argue this too. well see. also does anyone think i can challenge this in court? i was not smoking when they came, i smelled like it and said i been smoking but was not specific of when and where. sorry if im asking too many questions but i would like this to be the least stressful situation possible.


thanks for all the support guys!

good luck buddy.

pismomonkey said:

yes. im not going to go off and blame other other people, i realize it is my fault and that this is a lesson. anyways the lesson here is the most important, more than the fine or anything else. i wonder how things would play off differently if i had said no, but im sure they would have found grounds to search me in other ways. but the root of the problems is that i was out somewhere i shouldnt have been. we'll see what happens with this whole procedure, but i thank all of you who read my story and gave me suggestions. maybe this thread will help other in whatever situation they get into.

thanks.

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So what, I can't bring empties back to the store in my car? I don't get thought open containment had to be like half filled beers?

Dido!
I agree with this completely.
You always have to be on the lookout and stay smart. Watch COP's and pay attention when they read people their rights. you don't have to talk to cops even if you don't want to..

Good luck!

That open container is crap, yes that law was originally designed for people openly drinking and driving not some dude with empty bottles in his car. I'm pretty sure you'll get that tossed without even having a lawyer but the pot charge you earned and the search is legit.

They prey on people like you and the whole system runs on people like you. You just justified a policemans job, you paid for some judge and a court, you will pay for the classes you have to take now. It's an entire industry... All based on fucking with lots of people like you to teach you how to live the kind of life other people think you kids should live.

And what good did it do for you? None... You will still be the same person, just with thousands missing from your bank account. So complete succes cause they got your money and now you have a criminal record. Some jobs you will now never be able to get.

well to be honest california marijuana laws arnt that bad. i can take a diversion program (on how weed is bad and how i should quit it) and the charge will be removed off my record. the open container will be dropped for sure. so in all it will be a painful little slap on the wrist. i have heard of cases being dropped for less than a gram of weed. maybe this will happen to me..

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Possession of 28.5 grams or less of marijuana is not an arrestable offense. As long as the offender can provide sufficient identification and promises to appear in court, the officer will not arrest the offender. Upon conviction of the misdemeanor charge the offender is subject to a fine of $100.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For anyone under the age of 21 convicted of any of the above offenses, the state may suspend the offender’s driver’s license for up to one year.[/FONT]

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http://norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4525

go to your classes stoned dude! ha ha

hmm, yea the open container charge will prob be dropped by the judge.. also, because of ex-post facto, even if you admit that you smoked that night, the illegal act of smoking was in the past (even if only by hours) so really the only charge that will stand with the judge is possession and for that small amount of weed and it being your first misdemeanor, Im sure all you are going to get is probation and a fine (couple grand probably).. so dont hire a lawyer and save that money to pay the real theif - the law!

Consciousness420 said:

hmm, yea the open container charge will prob be dropped by the judge.. also, because of ex-post facto, even if you admit that you smoked that night, the illegal act of smoking was in the past (even if only by hours) so really the only charge that will stand with the judge is possession and for that small amount of weed and it being your first misdemeanor, Im sure all you are going to get is probation and a fine (couple grand probably).. so dont hire a lawyer and save that money to pay the real theif - the law!

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its california. the max fine is 100 dollars. maybe ill get my license suspended but i doubt it and maybe ill have probation but ill doubt it... well see

great news everyone!

the ticket was a warning! there are no records of my citation to be found according to anyone ive talked to! i guess this is a very very lucky break. to all you who do the same things i do, please reconsider what youre doing and be more safe. thanks everyone for the support and i hope this thread will help many others in the future!

duff420 said:

im no lawyer but you can easily get outa this because they illegaly searched ur car and its not a crime to have empty alchol bottles in your car its only if there is alchol in them that it would be a crime. you can say you were bringing the bottles back for money hell the cops shoulda breathalizered you and seen you were sober. get a lawyer for sure and counter sew for any damage property and pain and suffering, loss of wages or what not if it cut into your work in any way.

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Doubtful. She asked if he had been smoking weed. If he said I don't have to answer that, then she wouldn't have had probable cause and anything she would have found, assuming she had search anyway, would be tossed. She can claim she had probably cause after he admitted to smoking, although even this could be contested possibly.

Didn't see your last post, but congratulations on the outcome!