Madison reaches out on a Sunday evening, and tells me that she has been charged with an MIP. I follow up and ask her to send me any ticket or paperwork from the police officer. I also ask her for a summary of what happened, and a little background on herself.
It is quite common for a young client to mention a single charge, when, they have multiple charges. It turns out that Madison is charged with Minor in Possession, Urinating in Public, possession of a Fake ID and Open Container. Madison is a college student who was ticketed while leaving a tailgate party and going to the bathroom behind a bush next to the sidewalk. She is very embarrassed about the event.
As someone with no prior record, she is concerned about a criminal record, jail, and what happens next with the case. She has not yet told her parents, because she is worried, she will get in trouble, and would rather not get them involved.
First off, I make sure that Madison knows that everything is going to be OK. Without a prior criminal record, she is certainly in a good position to learn from this and move forward in the right direction. It is also important that she understands we have three criminal misdemeanors, and one civil infraction.
We need to acknowledge how a prosecutor and judge will view the case; they do not get the opportunity to meet Madison, and learn about her background, and any future goals. To them, she is someone who was completely out of control on a college campus; underage drinking in public, urinating and possessing a fake ID. To them, this is NOT the first time she’s done this, but rather the first time she was caught. How do they stop this happening again with Madison? Do they need to punish her? Give her a record so others who may wish to hire her know she is a problem child?
As a former prosecutor, I viewed this “college crimes” with a unique prospective. I was once young and dumb and did things that I regret, but for some reason, there are prosecutors who do not think that way. Maybe they did not have a good college experience and hold a grudge against youthful offenders who remind them of their own childhood. It’s rare, but I’ve had prosecutors who want to punish youthful offenders even harsher than adults.
We can’t rely on the fact that Madison has never been in trouble, and she is guaranteed a second chance. We need to be proactive, and highlight who Madison was prior to this happening, what she is doing in the present to learn from this incident, and her plans moving forward. Give them a reason NOT to give her a criminal record.
Madison agrees that it would be a good idea to change the perception of her case; being judged on the ticket alone is not an accurate reflection of who she is as a person.
It is important to address the elephant in the room; nobody thinks this was not Madison’s first-time underage drinking, and, nobody expects it to her last. She needs to be more aware of her surroundings; if she were more responsible and simply left the party without the urinating and attention, she brought to herself, she may have not been ticketed.
Underage drinking in college is a bit like speeding; most will do it, most will get away with it, but if you’re going to go 90 MPH or drive in a reckless way, you’re going to be caught and ticketed. For every 10 people in Madison’s same situation, 9 walked away without issue, but Madison made it worse with her additional choices.
Now that she has been caught, it’s time to learn a valuable lesson, and make this the most serious time she ever walks into a courtroom. I tell Madison that she is fortunate; it may not feel like it in the moment, but if this prevents a worse offense, then it will be worth it. The 9 people who got away with it, may have to learn their lesson with the law with something more serious.
Madison is confident if she follows my proactive program that the prosecutor and judge will be open-minded about a second chance, and redemption.
We start by addressing the alcohol usage; in no way do we consider Madison to be an alcoholic or a problem drinker at this point. We focus on awareness, insight and experience-based learning. We want Madison to focus on making good healthy choices in college; to focus on her grades, and to not jeopardize her own safety. Consuming alcohol in college goes beyond avoiding the cops; drink too much and you can find yourself unaware of your surroundings and be hurt or taken advantage of by another.
Most college campuses have alcohol awareness program geared toward their students; it’s usually 1-2 sessions and convenient to accomplish. If the school does not have this program, I refer the client to another program, which will accomplish the same goal. We get a certificate of completion for the program and have made a big step in the right direction.
I also have my young clients attend 1-2 AA meetings locally in the area in order to get a better understanding of “what could happen”. My clients are not in a position where AA is necessary and we are likely not at a dependency or sickness, but we never want to be there. If we can learn about the pitfalls of alcohol at age 20, we can avoid those worse case scenarios at 35 or 40 when my clients have careers, families and more to lose.
Madison agrees to sign up for the class at her school, and plans to attend two AA meetings, going once a week for two weeks. We also decide it would be beneficial for Madison to write a letter to herself that she could have put on her nightstand the morning she woke up on the date of her incident.
We can’t go back and change what happened, but what would we tell ourselves is going to happen, and why? Hopefully attending the awareness course and some AA meetings will make this clearer to understand. It also helps Madison when we go to court if a judge inquires on why did this happen, and what did she learn form it?
A prosecutor and judge need to hear that Madison understands how she found herself in this situation, and what she is doing moving forward to avoid it happening again, or something worse. There are some judges that see these types of offenses as a gateway to more serious drug offenses, and drunk driving. We want to avoid the client being hammered into deterrence.
Madison shares her letter with me, and she realizes that she drank way too much, didn’t pour her own drinks, wasn’t aware of how much she drank, and barely ate anything that morning. Because she was at a crowded party at a house, she was not familiar with, she did not feel comfortable using the bathroom. She hoped to find a business to use their bathroom but was not able to do so. She simply had to use the bathroom, and just went.
It is also important that Madison understands how serious possessing a Fake ID is for a potential background check in the future. While most think of a Fake ID as a way to underage drink or get into a bar, the charge will look very different on a background check.
Phrases like fraudulent identification, altered government documents are NOT what you want on a criminal charge on your record. There is no explanation that says “Madison was only 20 and wanted to be 21 to go to her favorite bar”. A grad school, future employer, customs or anyone reviewing it will not have that context.
Madison makes sure to address this in her letter to herself and urges her to remove this from her wallet as it is a ticking time bomb. It is important we acknowledge this for a prosecutor and judge.
Madison also agrees that it would be worthwhile to spend two days volunteering with a non-profit in her college town. While she has volunteered in the past, we want something fresh and new; a self-imposed penalty for breaking the law. We need to counteract these criminal charges with some positive vibes of her own.
Because Madison has followed my lead, and agreed to be proactive, she is in an excellent position to resolve her case in a favorable way. Despite three misdemeanors, we can likely create a path to have no criminal record from this incident, and limit court supervision.
Depending on the court, and prosecutor, it may also be possible to avoid the civil infraction for an MIP. While this seems less serious than a misdemeanor, a civil infraction will always be public, and will go on your driving record. I have seen clients have more difficulty explaining an MIP on their record than the original criminal misdemeanors.
Fortunately for Madison, our prosecutor agrees to dismiss all three criminal charges, and the one civil infraction in a view different way, and the judge is agreeable. With such an extraordinary outcome, some judges may question the outcome, but we have justified the deal we received, and all parties are in agreement that Madison has earned a second chance.
It is quite common for a young client to mention a single charge, when, they have multiple charges. It turns out that Madison is charged with Minor in Possession, Urinating in Public, possession of a Fake ID and Open Container. Madison is a college student who was ticketed while leaving a tailgate party and going to the bathroom behind a bush next to the sidewalk. She is very embarrassed about the event.
As someone with no prior record, she is concerned about a criminal record, jail, and what happens next with the case. She has not yet told her parents, because she is worried, she will get in trouble, and would rather not get them involved.
First off, I make sure that Madison knows that everything is going to be OK. Without a prior criminal record, she is certainly in a good position to learn from this and move forward in the right direction. It is also important that she understands we have three criminal misdemeanors, and one civil infraction.
We need to acknowledge how a prosecutor and judge will view the case; they do not get the opportunity to meet Madison, and learn about her background, and any future goals. To them, she is someone who was completely out of control on a college campus; underage drinking in public, urinating and possessing a fake ID. To them, this is NOT the first time she’s done this, but rather the first time she was caught. How do they stop this happening again with Madison? Do they need to punish her? Give her a record so others who may wish to hire her know she is a problem child?
As a former prosecutor, I viewed this “college crimes” with a unique prospective. I was once young and dumb and did things that I regret, but for some reason, there are prosecutors who do not think that way. Maybe they did not have a good college experience and hold a grudge against youthful offenders who remind them of their own childhood. It’s rare, but I’ve had prosecutors who want to punish youthful offenders even harsher than adults.
We can’t rely on the fact that Madison has never been in trouble, and she is guaranteed a second chance. We need to be proactive, and highlight who Madison was prior to this happening, what she is doing in the present to learn from this incident, and her plans moving forward. Give them a reason NOT to give her a criminal record.
Madison agrees that it would be a good idea to change the perception of her case; being judged on the ticket alone is not an accurate reflection of who she is as a person.
It is important to address the elephant in the room; nobody thinks this was not Madison’s first-time underage drinking, and, nobody expects it to her last. She needs to be more aware of her surroundings; if she were more responsible and simply left the party without the urinating and attention, she brought to herself, she may have not been ticketed.
Underage drinking in college is a bit like speeding; most will do it, most will get away with it, but if you’re going to go 90 MPH or drive in a reckless way, you’re going to be caught and ticketed. For every 10 people in Madison’s same situation, 9 walked away without issue, but Madison made it worse with her additional choices.
Now that she has been caught, it’s time to learn a valuable lesson, and make this the most serious time she ever walks into a courtroom. I tell Madison that she is fortunate; it may not feel like it in the moment, but if this prevents a worse offense, then it will be worth it. The 9 people who got away with it, may have to learn their lesson with the law with something more serious.
Madison is confident if she follows my proactive program that the prosecutor and judge will be open-minded about a second chance, and redemption.
We start by addressing the alcohol usage; in no way do we consider Madison to be an alcoholic or a problem drinker at this point. We focus on awareness, insight and experience-based learning. We want Madison to focus on making good healthy choices in college; to focus on her grades, and to not jeopardize her own safety. Consuming alcohol in college goes beyond avoiding the cops; drink too much and you can find yourself unaware of your surroundings and be hurt or taken advantage of by another.
Most college campuses have alcohol awareness program geared toward their students; it’s usually 1-2 sessions and convenient to accomplish. If the school does not have this program, I refer the client to another program, which will accomplish the same goal. We get a certificate of completion for the program and have made a big step in the right direction.
I also have my young clients attend 1-2 AA meetings locally in the area in order to get a better understanding of “what could happen”. My clients are not in a position where AA is necessary and we are likely not at a dependency or sickness, but we never want to be there. If we can learn about the pitfalls of alcohol at age 20, we can avoid those worse case scenarios at 35 or 40 when my clients have careers, families and more to lose.
Madison agrees to sign up for the class at her school, and plans to attend two AA meetings, going once a week for two weeks. We also decide it would be beneficial for Madison to write a letter to herself that she could have put on her nightstand the morning she woke up on the date of her incident.
We can’t go back and change what happened, but what would we tell ourselves is going to happen, and why? Hopefully attending the awareness course and some AA meetings will make this clearer to understand. It also helps Madison when we go to court if a judge inquires on why did this happen, and what did she learn form it?
A prosecutor and judge need to hear that Madison understands how she found herself in this situation, and what she is doing moving forward to avoid it happening again, or something worse. There are some judges that see these types of offenses as a gateway to more serious drug offenses, and drunk driving. We want to avoid the client being hammered into deterrence.
Madison shares her letter with me, and she realizes that she drank way too much, didn’t pour her own drinks, wasn’t aware of how much she drank, and barely ate anything that morning. Because she was at a crowded party at a house, she was not familiar with, she did not feel comfortable using the bathroom. She hoped to find a business to use their bathroom but was not able to do so. She simply had to use the bathroom, and just went.
It is also important that Madison understands how serious possessing a Fake ID is for a potential background check in the future. While most think of a Fake ID as a way to underage drink or get into a bar, the charge will look very different on a background check.
Phrases like fraudulent identification, altered government documents are NOT what you want on a criminal charge on your record. There is no explanation that says “Madison was only 20 and wanted to be 21 to go to her favorite bar”. A grad school, future employer, customs or anyone reviewing it will not have that context.
Madison makes sure to address this in her letter to herself and urges her to remove this from her wallet as it is a ticking time bomb. It is important we acknowledge this for a prosecutor and judge.
Madison also agrees that it would be worthwhile to spend two days volunteering with a non-profit in her college town. While she has volunteered in the past, we want something fresh and new; a self-imposed penalty for breaking the law. We need to counteract these criminal charges with some positive vibes of her own.
Because Madison has followed my lead, and agreed to be proactive, she is in an excellent position to resolve her case in a favorable way. Despite three misdemeanors, we can likely create a path to have no criminal record from this incident, and limit court supervision.
Depending on the court, and prosecutor, it may also be possible to avoid the civil infraction for an MIP. While this seems less serious than a misdemeanor, a civil infraction will always be public, and will go on your driving record. I have seen clients have more difficulty explaining an MIP on their record than the original criminal misdemeanors.
Fortunately for Madison, our prosecutor agrees to dismiss all three criminal charges, and the one civil infraction in a view different way, and the judge is agreeable. With such an extraordinary outcome, some judges may question the outcome, but we have justified the deal we received, and all parties are in agreement that Madison has earned a second chance.
