Wish I deserved this.

For lack of a better word.... sucks.

But coming from someone just slightly older than you (who had probably a dozen friends in similar situations) -- man up, pay the ticket. You'll still be pissed in a year, but realize there are far worse things in life that a silly "I'm 4 months under 21 and I got a ticket for drinking" offense. Many of my friends had tickets over $500.

Always, always, always keep a 20 in your shoe for a taxi, or have a reliable DD that can hit up no matter what time.
 
In this day and age it is refreshing to see someone of your age use a mature thought process in a situation such as this. Yeah in retrospect you could have maybe done the cab thing, however the ladies have to get from the cab to their residence, right? What if something happened to them before they got in the door? What would be going thru your mind this AM? Does it suck getting a fine for your efforts? Yep, sure does, however you show personal responsibility in how you are handling it. You made a helluva deposit in the ol' karma bank last night, and because of your efforts 2 ladies got to wake up in the safety of their own beds. You have shown honor in your actions and I salute you for it.

Lou

I understand the fine could cut into your cigar budget as a college student, so please PM me your address. (with no objections :) )
 
Should have told the officer to take you to the station and blow on the real breathalizer. In many states, portable breathalizers are not considered proof of anything (given you pass the other sobriety tests easily) since they are known to be largely innaccurate (could have just been gargling listerine and it would have given you nothing or 1.1). You might still end up blowing illegal, but you may end up blowing low enough that it was cough syrup and you have a cold.
 
Really sucks, but I'd rather be looking at a fine for getting caught at something I knew was wrong than answering to the girls, or worse, their parents/friends/etc., as to why they didn't make it home safe. Pay the fine and smoke cheap cigars for a bit! ;)

---John Holmes...
 
What is a cop doing stopping kids walking across campus in a town know for it's murder rate? Seems like the city just wants some money from the "rich" college kids. When I was in college cops were never on campus unless there was a crime. Campus security did patrols. Sounds like BS to me.
 
Bummer!!
I would really like to hear from a lawyer on this one. You had passed 2 sobriety checks. It appears to this non-lawyer that there was no probable cause to compell you to blow into the machine. In PA when you are driving refusal to take the breath test is accepted as admission of DUI. However, you were walking, not endangering anyone else with a vehicle, so I wonder if you could be compelled to take the breath test without any other probable cause of intoxication.
Regardless of whether or not you were under compulsion to take the breath test, you did consent, more or less voluntarily, thus demonstrating the alcohol in your blood. However, for future reference, I wonder about the legality of compelling you to blow into the machine.
Can any of our lawyers enlighten us all?
In the meantime, PM me your addy and I'll put a little into the "defray the fine fund" too.
 
BigMacFU said:
Should have told the officer to take you to the station and blow on the real breathalizer. In many states, portable breathalizers are not considered proof of anything (given you pass the other sobriety tests easily) since they are known to be largely innaccurate (could have just been gargling listerine and it would have given you nothing or 1.1). You might still end up blowing illegal, but you may end up blowing low enough that it was cough syrup and you have a cold.
Click to expand...

This is the best way right here. In almost any situation it's better not to blow into the breathalyser.

On another note, that cop was a dick. The UT police would never mess with you if you weren't behaving ridiculously, and even then, I've been able to avoid arousing too much suspicion while relatively plastered in the past. If there's one thing to reassure yourself with, you were doing the right thing. I salute you for walking her home.
 
I wish I had some good advice to offer you, but I don't. You got caught in a bad situation doing the right thing, and it sucks. Many of us have gotten in a bad situation from doing the right thing, but you would have a hard time finding anyone who wouldn't do the right thing 99% of the time. One time in college I got put through 2 field sobriety tests, and a breathalizer, and I was the DD that night for my fraternities party. The cops last words to me, after passing all of his tests, were "I'm going to be out all night, and I'm going to keep my eye on you." Just know that you did the right thing, and hopefully it will come back around to you.
 
As others have said........sucks!

You did the right thing and you can probably explain this to any number of persons....including the city prosecutor's office who will likely reduce the amount of the fine. The only other thing I can add is never, ever submit to field sobriety tests. You do not have to do them and the police cannot make you do them. By doing them, you give the police probable cause to issue the citation. I don't know whether or not you would have to submit to the field Breathalyzer. If you were just walking across campus and not violating a curfew or being suspicious, they have no right to stop you. While it may not be worth fighting, if you talk to the city prosecutor, they will likely be able to work something out for you.
 
KeithS said:
What is a cop doing stopping kids walking across campus in a town know for it's murder rate? Seems like the city just wants some money from the "rich" college kids. When I was in college cops were never on campus unless there was a crime. Campus security did patrols. Sounds like BS to me.
Click to expand...

This is how this is in my town too. Cops will do anything to get anyone in trouble if they look like they go to my school. From all of the issues that were non-violent, non-stupidity involving on our part; we can only assume that they are envious because they chose to go into the force and didn't get to experience "college life."

Welcome to the cold harsh reality of college today...plead it down and pay up. They see these tickets by the truckload, along with noise violations, etc. It sucks, but it's the way things have become.

edited places out
 
You did the right thing. You'll forget about the fine and all that will be left is that you did the right thing. That'll matter someday, trust me.

Doc.
 
The age of honour has long since past, and only a few gentlemen are left in this souless world. I congratulate you wholeheartedly on doing the right thing by walking those girls home. It is unfortunate that the policemen did not show approval at your chivalry, yet not uncommon at all. Most people I know think such good deeds are pointless because you get nothing in return (probably why I don't see many of my 'friends' anymore).

I have found such a large concentration of generous and supportive people on this site, that I am still generally surprised and gladdened when I log on. (must be that premium cigar smokers are a mature and worldly crowd, lol). If only more people like the ones on this forum populated the world.


Anyway, the point of my ramble is to commend you on doing the right thing in a world that looks out for itself, and to agree that it is unfair that you get penalized for what should be considered a good deed. A sensible cop would tell you to go home and not cause any trouble, but how many of them are around anymore?
 
Macion Grey said:
A sensible cop would tell you to go home and not cause any trouble, but how many of them are around anymore?
Click to expand...

Well, a couple points I see here from "the other side." It DOES make sense that the police are on foot patrol on the campus in light of the recent string of violent crimes that ocurred there, that you yourself pointed out as a preface in your post, so those who say that the cops had no business being on campus and they just wanna f*ck with "rich college kids," I'm sorry fellas, that kind of doesn't compute.


As far as you getting the muni ticket, that really really sucks, and I feel for you. Unfortunately, you were caught doing one wrong thing, that in the huge scheme of things and in light of who you were helping, didn't really matter. But, for some reason the cop felt that he needed to give you a ticket for it. Like others stated, plead it down, get a payment plan for the ticket, and you'll be okay.


As far as the breathalizer, it doesn't matter whether you blow out in the field or in the station, both breathalizer's are actually held to the same standards as far as testing and whatnot. In my experience of DUIs, if the driver blows out in the field, it's normally taken up to three seperate times over an extended period of time to show consistency. If the driver blows over the legal limit, that is considered probable cause to arrest. The officer then concludes his investigation in the station by either administering the station's breathalizer, or the subject submits to a blood draw. Here in CA, NOT submitting to a breath test does NOT equal guilty. When you sign up and receive a driver's license, there is a clause that states in the event of a DUI investigation, the driver shall submit to a breath test or a blood test. If the driver refuses breath, a blood draw is taken.


With all that nonsense said, Dlo, I gotta tell you brother, this sucks and if it were me, I would've have told you to get the f*ck outta here and go home minus the ticket. But alas, there are few gentlemen left, and ultimately YOU did what was right for those girls. Those girls could've been taken advantage of, but you decided to walk them home, so good on ya! :thumbs:


On the other side of the coin, all of this could've been avoided if you weren't under-age and drinking...damn laws! :sign: :sign: :sign:
 
Life is rough sometimes.

If this is your first offense, see if the prosecutor's office has a pretrial diversion program. The town I grew up in did (I administrated it for 2 years while in college). This may give you the chance to avoid having this on your "sheet" permanently with the fine and an afternoon of alcohol awareness class.

Don't be too down on the cop. Yeah, he could have let you go, but you were wrong. Sometimes we have to pay the piper.

I commend you for walking the girls home, but that doesn't excuse you from the law.
 
It's a double-edged sword here of sorts.

Yeah, you did the proper, chivalrous thing to do by walking the dames to their dorm. Now just man up and deal with the fallout and put it past you. But, for the future...

Remember, you blew it by drinking in the first place. You're not of age, correct? Or did I miscomprehend that?

The true analysis here is not, "what should I have done?...let them walk home alone or get them cab?"
Rather, the introspection you need to undertake is whether you should have been consuming alcohol in the first place. It's not simply because you chose to walk the broads home that you got nailed - it's that you had been drinking. Don't lose sight of the true culprit here, although your post seems to acknowledge it (it just also goes on to discuss the "what should I have done" so-called quandry you described).

Edited to also add -

What's the citation for? Public Intox? Chances are, you can fight it. Definitely request a trial date and present the scenario to the judge. You might get popped with a "learn your lesson about drinking" kind of fine, but it will likely be less than a P.I. fine, and adjudication will also probably be withheld.
 
I heard an interesting quote last night and it kida fits this situation," Its better to be judged by 12 then be carried by 6".

(I've been wanting to use that one all day!!)

Sometimes doing the right thing isn't doing the right thing. Keep doing what your doing. It'll pay off in the loing run.

George
 
I feel for you, man. Just know in hindsight that you did the right thing by walking the girls home. It is odd, though, that the officer would question you when simply walking across campus and not causing a disturbance of any sort.

At Yale, the policy is that you basically do not get in trouble for drunkenness or anything involving the possession or consumption of alcohol. While this may seem rather lax, it is certainly comforting knowing that, if one were to call the police or a school official in the event of someone becoming dangerously ill due to excessive alcohol consumption, there is no risk of one getting in trouble with the school or police. This prevents students from waiting too long to get help, failing to get help at all, or misrepresenting the situation to the EMTs. Colleges need to realize the realities of underage student drinking and adopt more progressive regulations in the interest of student safety.
 
smoke76 said:
I heard an interesting quote last night and it kida fits this situation," Its better to be judged by 12 then be carried by 6".

(I've been wanting to use that one all day!!)

George
Click to expand...

Yeah, we blue bellies use that all the time. It is better to shoot and stay alive, and be judged later while you're with your family, than be killed because of hesitation on being politically correct and be carried by six of your fellow officers.

Just my .02 cents.
 
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