QUESTION
What is the penalty for underage possession of alcohol in Virginia?
Asked on Apr 04th, 2012 on Criminal Law - Virginia
More details to this question:
My friend was driving us in her car and we got pulled over, the cops smelled pot and searched the car, my friend claimed responsibility for the pot, they found my 2 beers that were mine, I claimed responsibility for the beers, I was not drinking, they were unopened. What is the minimum penalty for first time offenders?
1 ANSWER
1 Award
The punishment for Underage Possession is found in the same statute as the charge. Virginia Code 4.1-305:
"C. Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor; and upon conviction, (i) such person shall be ordered to pay a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or ordered to perform a mandatory minimum of 50 hours of community service as a condition of probation supervision and (ii) the license to operate a motor vehicle in the Commonwealth of any such person age 18 or older shall be suspended for a period of not less than six months and not more than one year; the license to operate a motor vehicle in the Commonwealth of any juvenile shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of § 16.1-278.9. The court, in its discretion and upon a demonstration of hardship, may authorize an adult convicted of a violation of this section the use of a restricted permit to operate a motor vehicle in accordance with the provisions of subsection E of § 18.2-271.1 or when referred to a local community-based probation services agency established pursuant to Article 9 (§ 9.1-173 et seq.) of Chapter 1 of Title 9.1. During the period of license suspension, the court may require an adult who is issued a restricted permit under the provisions of this subsection to be (a) monitored by an alcohol safety action program, or (b) supervised by a local community-based probation services agency established pursuant to Article 9 (§ 9.1-173 et seq.) of Chapter 1 of Title 9.1, if one has been established for the locality. The alcohol safety action program or local community-based probation services agency shall report to the court any violation of the terms of the restricted permit, the required alcohol safety action program monitoring or local community-based probation services and any condition related thereto or any failure to remain alcohol-free during the suspension period. "
That being said, some jurisdictions have a first offender type disposition.
This response is general in nature and is not legal advice. No attorney client relationship is formed by it. Further, the response does not represent the opinions or views of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.
Answered on Apr 04th, 2012 at 9:13 PM
Please note that this does not constitute an attorney-client relationship nor is it legal advice.