New Canaan Possession of Alcohol by A Minor

Ask any top New Canaan Connecticut criminal lawyer…New Canaan Connecticut police are cracking down on underage drinking parties. The best New Canaan Connecticut criminal defense lawyers recognize that a Possession of Alcohol by a Minor CGS 30-89 ticket is more serious than most people understand, and is certainly more than just a slap on the wrist. Top New Canaan Connecticut criminal law firms often receive calls from teenage drinkers who pay the fine on their New Canaan Minor in Possession of Alcohol tickets without first consulting their parents and without appreciating the full implications a guilty plea. These New Canaan minors in possession of alcohol and marijuana don’t realize the impact of their plea until their driver’s license gets suspended, or until they are applying for a job after graduation and realize they have a New Canaan minor in possession infraction conviction on their permanent record. So if your child received a 30-89 Possession of Alcohol by a Minor ticket in New Canaan Connecticut, then it’s definitely worth contacting a top New Canaan Connecticut Minor in Possession criminal lawyer attorney who can advise you on the best way to get the ticket ripped up, keep your teenager’s record clean, and avoid a lengthy driver’s license suspension.

What Do I Do If My Child Gets a 30-89 Minor in Possession Ticket In New Canaan Connecticut?

Any top New Canaan Connecticut criminal lawyer would tell you to not plead guilty by mail to your 30-89 Possession of Alcohol Ticket. Most clients are shocked to learn that paying the fine doesn’t make it just “go away” as the New Canaan police would want you to believe. While pleading guilty by mail will not result in DMV points being assessed against the minor’s license, it WILL result in an administrative license suspension and an increase in your auto insurance rates. (THE BACK OF YOUR TICKET DOES NOT TELL YOU THAT, DOES IT?) And in addition to the hassle and costs stemming from a Minor in Possession driver’s license suspension, pleading guilty to a New Canaan Minor in Possession of Alcohol ticket will also result in an infraction conviction that appears on your employment background checks for years. This can have a meaningful impact on the future of a New Canaan high school student applying for college or looking for employment after graduation—especially in particularly competitive fields like finance, banking and government jobs.

Can My New Canaan Possession of Alcohol Guilty Plea by Mail Be Reversed?

Yes. It’s one of Connecticut’s best kept secrets. Most New Canaan Connecticut residents don’t know that you can sometimes have a guilty plea to Possession of Alcohol by a Minor reversed in Connecticut courts. This means that with the right approach and assistance of a top New Canaan Connecticut criminal lawyer attorney, the damage can be undone if your child paid the fine on a 30-89 alcohol possession ticket without your knowledge. However, the Connecticut courts strictly enforce a very short time deadline for filing these motions to vacate and reverse your guilty plea by mail to a Connecticut Minor in Possession of Alcohol ticket, so you must act quickly. Follow this link for more on reversing guilty pleas by mail to New Canaan alcohol and marijuana possession tickets.

New Canaan Social Hosting Law Arrests

More and more New Canaan parents are finding themselves on the hook for parties that were thrown by their children when they’re out of town, or even just out to dinner. And while many parents do make a valid point that it’s often safer to allow their children to drink in the home under their watch, it is nevertheless ILLEGAL. Recent social hosting laws in Connecticut can get you arrested in New Canaan for allowing minors to possess alcohol in your home, and can arrest you for failing to stop underage drinking in your house. Even more serous are the felony alcohol distribution criminal laws such as CGS 30-86, Providing or Distributing Alcohol to Minors. Getting arrested in New Canaan Connecticut for Providing Alcohol to Minors is a Class E Felony punishable by up to a year in prison—which usually comes as a shock to many parents who allow their teenaged children to have friends over and have drinking parties. These charges not only make adults vulnerable to civil lawsuits by anyone injured on their property (or once they leave the property) due to underage drinking, but also can affect the parents’ employment background checks for the rest of their lives. So if you are arrested for violating Social Hosting laws in New Canaan under CGS 30-89, then contact a top New Canaan criminal law firm or attorney as soon as possible.

Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? New Canaan Possession of Alcohol Ticket Consequences

Notwithstanding that the penalties that come along with a CGS 30-89 New Canaan Minor in Possession ticket can be costly and permanent, you should know that the technical legal status of a possession of alcohol by a minor ticket is what’s called a criminal “infraction.” The best New Canaan Connecticut criminal lawyers can explain that a possession of alcohol ticket is punishable by a monetary fine and not jail time—sometimes up to $500. Payment of these fines by mail without understanding the consequences of doing so can make the matter worse—by exposing a minor to a lengthy driver’s license suspension and / or an infraction conviction that will appear on background checks during years that are crucial to your child’s future. As any of New Canaan Connecticut’s best criminal defense lawyers will tell you, it is better to always err on the side of caution when handling this type of infraction by consulting an attorney before making any plea decisions.

What Will Happen to My Driver’s License If I Plead Guilty to Possession of Alcohol in New Canaan?

Any of New Canaan Connecticut’s top criminal defense attorneys and lawyers will tell you that a minor who pleads guilty to a CGS 30-89 Possession of Alcohol ticket or a CGS 21a-279 Possession of Marijuana or Paraphernalia ticket will face an automatic license suspension in Connecticut. In fact, Connecticut has two mandatory license suspensions for minor drivers who are caught in possession of alcohol. New Canaan high school-aged students who plead guilty or who are convicted of possession face an automatic 30-day driver’s license suspension. What’s worse is that minors who plead guilty or are convicted of possession of alcohol while in their car face a 60-day license suspension. Even New Canaan Connecticut minors who do not yet have their Connecticut driver’s license—but who plead guilty by mail to a New Canaan Minor in Possession ticket—are punished by having their eligibility date to get their driver’s license suspended for a lengthy time period.

Fighting Your New Canaan Connecticut Minor in Possession Ticket

The best New Canaan Connecticut criminal lawyers and attorneys know that fighting a Possession of Alcohol by a Minor ticket in Connecticut court is challenging, but very doable. As most top Connecticut criminal juvenile lawyers understand, when kids are involved, prosecutors and judges are willing to listen to mitigation and leniency arguments. So even if the prosecutors have put together a compelling case against you or your child, Connecticut criminal defense attorneys know that it’s the goal of the court to promote safety among minors experimenting with alcohol use—and not to ruin their futures. A top New Canaan criminal defense attorney will be able to present your child favorably to the prosecutors and court in a manner that will facilitate a fair disposition that will hopefully get the case dismissed altogether. On the other hand, sometimes a case needs to be fought aggressively; so experienced Connecticut Minor in Possession lawyers will always carefully examine all police reports and documents for mistakes, technical defects or discrepancies that can win your child’s case. Especially when New Canaan police officers take too many liberties in illegally searching or seizing your child’s car or impermissibly enter your child’s home. So whether you fight your New Canaan Minor in Possession ticket from a mitigation or adversarial approach, you should definitely consider all of your options with your New Canaan Possession of Alcohol criminal lawyer who can present you with a thorough risk-reward analysis prior to your making a decision.

Will My Auto Insurance Rates Be Affected by My Connecticut Minor in Possession Ticket?

Possibly. New Canaan Connecticut parents often get confused when their teenager’s automobile insurance premiums go through the roof after their minor child pleads guilty by mail in New Canaan to a Possession of Alcohol or Marijuana ticket—especially when their child pays the fine by mail without telling their parents. The guilty plea shows up when your auto insurance companies conduct their annual background checks on the insured drivers during the renewal period. Generally, any possession of alcohol by a minor charge will cause insurance rates to increase significantly, especially when the New Canaan Minor in Possession conviction is followed by a Connecticut driver’s license suspension.

Contact Mark Sherman Law Today

In light of all the headaches, costs and risks of pleading guilty to a New Canaan Connecticut CGS 30-89 Possession of Alcohol by a Minor ticket, it’s obvious that fighting the ticket in Norwalk Superior Court would be a wise action to take—regardless of the evidence you think exists against you or your child. In the long run, the cost of hiring an attorney is money-well-spent for the chance to keep your child’s record clean. At Mark Sherman Law, our Minor in Possession criminal lawyers are available to take your call 24/7. We will walk you through every fact surrounding your ticket and advise you honestly on how to proceed, with the sole goal of getting your New Canaan Minor in Possession ticket dismissed. So call us today at (203) 358-4700.