Minor in possession is where an underage person is in possession of an alcoholic beverage.
In Springfield, Greene County, Missouri there’s actually a program that allows young people facing their first MIPs to go to a diversion class. So if you call my firm looking for help with your first MIP, I am going to tell you not to hire me. You don’t need to waste money. The officer writing the ticket gives it to the prosecutor who will mail you a letter saying if you go take a class on a Saturday we will never file these charges. You don’t need an attorney!
If this is your second MIP, things change radically. You do need an attorney. We need to minimize the damage. A lot of people don’t know that a MIP can actually get your license revoked, and that is a whole new can of worms.
Recently, I handled a case where a young man was at a party, holding a red Solo cup. The officer involved didn’t collect that cup and test its contents for alcohol. Fast forward to the young man’s day in court, and all the prosecutor could do was stand up and say, ‘Judge, we all know what’s in red Solo cups.”
The inference wasn’t good enough in this case, there needed to be evidence, so the judge said not guilty. There are ways to win, and that’s why getting an attorney involved is important.
MISDEMEANOR MINOR IN POSSESSION STATUTE
1. Any person under the age of twenty-one years, who purchases or attempts to purchase, or has in his or her possession, any intoxicating liquor as defined in section 311.020 or who is visibly in an intoxicated condition as defined in section 577.001, or has a detectable blood alcohol content of more than two-hundredths of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in such person’s blood is guilty of a misdemeanor. A first violation of this section shall be punishable as a class D misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation of this section shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor. Prior findings of guilt shall be pleaded and proven in the same manner as required by section 558.021. For purposes of prosecution under this section or any other provision of this chapter involving an alleged illegal sale or transfer of intoxicating liquor to a person under twenty-one years of age, a manufacturer-sealed container describing that there is intoxicating liquor therein need not be opened or the contents therein tested to verify that there is intoxicating liquor in such container. The alleged violator may allege that there was not intoxicating liquor in such container, but the burden of proof of such allegation is on such person, as it shall be presumed that such a sealed container describing that there is intoxicating liquor therein contains intoxicating liquor.
2. For purposes of determining violations of any provision of this chapter, or of any rule or regulation of the supervisor of alcohol and tobacco control, a manufacturer-sealed container describing that there is intoxicating liquor therein need not be opened or the contents therein tested to verify that there is intoxicating liquor in such container. The alleged violator may allege that there was not intoxicating liquor in such container, but the burden of proof of such allegation is on such person, as it shall be presumed that such a sealed container describing that there is intoxicating liquor therein contains intoxicating liquor.
3. Any person under the age of twenty-one years who purchases or attempts to purchase, or has in his or her possession, any intoxicating liquor, or who is visibly in an intoxicated condition as defined in section 577.001, shall be deemed to have given consent to a chemical test or tests of the person’s breath, blood, saliva, or urine for the purpose of determining the alcohol or drug content of the person’s blood. The implied consent to submit to the chemical tests listed in this subsection shall be limited to not more than two such tests arising from the same arrest, incident, or charge. Chemical analysis of the person’s breath, blood, saliva, or urine shall be performed according to methods approved by the state department of health and senior services by licensed medical personnel or by a person possessing a valid permit issued by the state department of health and senior services for this purpose. The state department of health and senior services shall approve satisfactory techniques, devices, equipment, or methods to be considered valid and shall establish standards to ascertain the qualifications and competence of individuals to conduct analyses and to issue permits which shall be subject to termination or revocation by the state department of health and senior services. The person tested may have a physician, or a qualified technician, chemist, registered nurse, or other qualified person at the choosing and expense of the person to be tested, administer a test in addition to any administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer. The failure or inability to obtain an additional test by a person shall not preclude the admission of evidence relating to the test taken at the direction of a law enforcement officer. Upon the request of the person who is tested, full information concerning the test shall be made available to such person. Full information is limited to the following:
(1) The type of test administered and the procedures followed;
(2) The time of the collection of the blood or breath sample or urine analyzed;
(3) The numerical results of the test indicating the alcohol content of the blood and breath and urine;
(4) The type and status of any permit which was held by the person who performed the test;
(5) If the test was administered by means of a breath-testing instrument, the date of performance of the most recent required maintenance of such instrument.
Full information does not include manuals, schematics, or software of the instrument used to test the person or any other material that is not in the actual possession of the state. Additionally, full information does not include information in the possession of the manufacturer of the test instrument.
4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a student who:
(1) Is eighteen years of age or older;
(2) Is enrolled in an accredited college or university and is a student in a culinary course;
(3) Is required to taste, but not consume or imbibe, any beer, ale, porter, wine, or other similar malt or fermented beverage as part of the required curriculum; and
(4) Tastes a beverage under subdivision (3) of this subsection only for instructional purposes during classes that are part of the curriculum of the accredited college or university. The beverage must at all times remain in the possession and control of an authorized instructor of the college or university, who must be twenty-one years of age or older. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to allow a student under the age of twenty-one to receive any beer, ale, porter, wine, or other similar malt or fermented beverage unless the beverage is delivered as part of the student’s required curriculum and the beverage is used only for instructional purposes during classes conducted as part of the curriculum.
PENALTY OF CONVICTION
If your child is charged with a misdemeanor for a Minor in Possession, they could be facing a fine up to $1000, a one year suspension of their driver’s license, and mandatory enrollment in educational classes on the dangers of alcohol or community service.