Need advice for DS's alcohol-related incident

I’d make sure the attorney is a well-known entity to the court venue, preferably a former judge or prosectutor himself from that jurisdiction. If he or she is not, switch to one that is. If you’ve ever been in a courtroom, you’d be amazed at how many good bounces the court-friendly attorney can secure for their clients.

Completely agree with this. Very important to have an attorney who is known to the judge and prosecutor, and has a good reputation. Old expression about knowing the judge is kore important than knowing the law, sadly rings true in many courts. If the attorney is disliked by that judge, then the client will pay the price. This is something I have seen firsthand. Check into who this attorney is and his reputation.

Good luck to your son, as a parent I can completely empathize. We all worry sick about our kids, and know that part of growing up is learning from our mistakes.
 
Not to derail the thread, but the period between Memorial Day and July 4 is particularly perilous for new high school graduates.

Aside from the real physical danger alcohol can wreak on you and anybody in the path of your vehicle, a DUI/DWI will likely torpedo your military career and surely mean the end of your scholarship.

If you're going to party, make sure you have an Uber or Lyft app on your phone.
 
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I read about the incident and I think it is great that your kid is owning up to it. That said, a lot of the advice in the thread is super important. As someone with over 30+ years in law enforcement, I cannot stress how important it is to get the charge dismissed outright for multiple reasons. Does your state offer any types of formal programs for first-time, low-level offenders? This is where a good attorney with criminal experience will help you.

In NY, there is a process called "Adjourned Contemplating Dismissal" or ACD. The defendant goes to court and the proceedings are adjourned for 3, 6, or even 9 months. When they return to court the judge will dismiss the case outright as long as the defendant did not have any other arrests. The ACD process has the same effect as unsupervised probation, but it is actually better. In a probation context, there is usually a guilty plea to some law. The ACD is an outright dismissal, as if it never occurred.

You want the dismissal instead of probation or just a fine. This way, whenever your kid is asked on some form "have you ever been convicted of an offense?" he can honestly state "no."
 
BigBillNY thank you so much. I just cut and pasted that and sent it to my DS and told him to ask his attorney about this! His attorney is very experienced with these sorts of things and I think well known.
 
I think it depends on the unit and their tolerance for alcohol issues...unlike the other ND poster, I'm aware of a situation about 4 years ago where a midshipman was caught drinking underage....he wasn't disenrolled but he lost his scholarship for that semester...wanted to share as that could be a possibility.
 
Goirish1 thanks, that is good to know. So, interestingly, the charges for my DS finally arrived in the mail from the police department (for some reason they told him they were going to mail the charges to him instead of giving him anything the night of the incident), and the charges do NOT include anything about alcohol! They are charging him with disorderly conduct (from the loud noise) and receipt of stolen property -- my DS's roommates had several street signs in the house that the police noticed and were really pissed about -- pretty sure my DS's attorney can get that charge completely dismissed or substantially reduced, since my DS had absolutely nothing to do with moving the street signs into the house -- though the police said that even if he was not the person(s) responsible for taking the street signs, he should have known they were county property and should have made sure the signs were returned -- my DS realizes that now, and he's really mad at himself -- and his roommates. His roommates are all on the track team at the university, and for some reason the street signs were some sort of cool thing for them. I can see why the police are mad about that, very irresponsible of them, and my DS for not doing anything about it. In any event, it looks like the police department MIGHT be cutting my DS a break on the alcohol related charges (they knew he was a midshipman), though it is possible the alcohol charges might arrive separate -- but it has been over a week, I'd think they would have arrived by now, and my DS's attorney says it would be really unusual for them to send the charges separately - the write up in the charges included a description of the entire incident, with nothing about alcohol other than that the officers checked IDs and told everyone who didn't live in the house to leave.
 
I think all the charges would be included in a single letter. I see no reason to expect a separate letter for alcohol related charges. Given the charges, while it may be painful, I expect he can escape a PRB without too much scarring. He better explain himself coherently, well and completely... but you guys know that.

EDIT: BTW - I expect they're going to want to know what the original charges were regardless of any reduction. That's not to say a reduction wouldn't help.
 
He informed his NROTC unit immediately that he was involved in an ARI (alcohol related incident), so they know. They said nothing will happen until after his court date. They know also know about formal the charges not including the ARI, at least up to now. Yes, my DS is wondering if he won't end up having to go before a PRB, we'll see. He has been in touch with his NROTC unit about all of this. They told him that he is cleared to go on his submarine cruise this summer, and to continue to keep them informed. My impression from my DS's interactions with the unit over this is that while they are very displeased about what happened, it seems like they might be willing to let him redeem himself, based on his very strong record as a Midshipman over the last three years. I hope so.
 
I just wanted to close the loop on this post, in case anyone is reading it new, or following it. My DS had his court appointment this morning, and all charges against him were unconditionally dropped! The police officer ended up deciding not to charge him with any alcohol-related violations in the first instance, so that was very cool (I assume because he knew he was a Midshipman). At the hearing, the police officer told my DS that the two things he cared about in terms of deciding whether or not to drop the charges were (1) the fact that DS was joining the military, and (2) that he didn't try to run, or evade, or find someone to blame. The police officer said he was impressed that DS didn't fall apart when he was the only one getting in trouble even though there were plenty of other people who he could have pointed out. The attorney definitely helped, he knew the police officer and talked to him, and showed him DS's transcript, various NROTC and academic awards, and the volunteer community work DS had done. Am pretty sure DS won't face any formal disciplinary action by his NROTC unit, since everything was dropped and he was never charged for a alcohol violation. But DS did report everything to the unit. I think the unit may take away DS's leadership position that he was slated for in the fall. I think that makes sense, DS should not get off scott-free from this, and he knows it. He learned a big lesson. But am so relieved! Thanks again for everyone's words of wisdom!!
 
Glad to hear it worked out well for him. Young people make mistakes and fortunately this didn't end up being a major mistake for him. Seems he did all the right things after the incident and took responsibility for his actions - the right thing to do, but not the easy thing to do. I bet he'll work hard with his NROTC unit to regain any trust or respect that may have been lost in the process.

Best wishes to your DS in his final academic year before graduation/commission.
 
(1) the fact that DS was joining the military, and (2) that he didn't try to run, or evade, or find someone to blame.

IMHO I would never offer up (1) unless asked by the police officer or the judge and (2) saved my DS's fanny at least once.

Very happy to know it worked out.

Now you can hang him by the thumbs from a lamppost on the town square for some well deserved humiliation.
 
FWIW, the police knew who he was -- a Midshipman -- the night of the incident, they recognized him because they had recently visited the unit to give a presentation about school gun violence -- one of the police officers told my DS he was really disappointed in him. I think the only reason DS wasn't hit with an alcohol violation was because the policeman knew it would put him in much more serious trouble with his NROTC unit -- the police officer wrote a ticket for an alcohol violation, but then must have subsequently tore it up, because the charges were never filed, DS never received them (I'm only surmising this, I really don't know for sure). I tend to think law enforcement and judges have a lot of respect for ROTC cadets/midshipmen -- are fellow public servants. Yes, onto DS's other punishments for getting himself into this mess! (Made him pay all his expenses for the mess for sure -- the $1850 in attorneys fees, the roundtrip airfare to fly him back and forth from his internship on the other side of the country -- twice -- because he had to be fingerprinted on a separate date from his court date...I think the total expenses from all of it are over $3,000.)
 
This is the first party my DS has ever thrown

he never does this sort of thing, never goes to parties and doesn't drink

My DS has always shied away from it

he goes back to his room or his lab to study.

Sometimes they make fun of him, and who knows what they say about him behind his back.

everyone around him would be getting drunk, and he'd be as sober as can be.

my DS had absolutely nothing to do with moving the street signs

Glad it worked out.
You sound like a very loving parent. Watch out though, because it's easy to be so infatuated with our kids that we overestimate their level of innocence. Most kids shelter their parents from the sordid details of their college experience. I get the idea that you think you have the complete picture.
 
This is the first party my DS has ever thrown

Glad it worked out.
You sound like a very loving parent. Watch out though, because it's easy to be so infatuated with our kids that we overestimate their level of innocence. Most kids shelter their parents from the sordid details of their college experience. I get the idea that you think you have the complete picture.

If they're enjoying college to it's fullest, they better have a couple of sordid details they don't tell the parents. :)
 
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