It may not matter that he’s being cagey with you, but if he ever does get a lawyer representing him, he needs to be open and honest with the lawyer.
There is definately something screwy with the pill bottle/oily substance. Kid is hiding something, for sure. If it was an innocent substance why won’t he tell you what it is? He’s not gonna be able to bullshit his way at court. They are gonna need for him to tell what it is. If it doesn’t match the lab tests then he has screwed the pooch.
This cries out for a response by George Carlin.
He may legally be an adult, but your son’s friend is acting like a kid. Still, he may be onto something: It turns out those roadside tests for cannabinoids may be unreliable. From a 2016 NYT article:
[Bolding is mine.] The article says that some states require cops to back up roadside tests with lab analysis, but cops might not do so if the defendant pleads guilty. (Because, I assume, they already have a guilty plea: who needs a test?) Whether your local cops use the Duquenois-Levine test, what your state’s laws are, and what the local PD’s track record is are things an attorney would be better equipped to determine. But the Kid should read the article. Then he should call an attorney.
He knows what the substance is but won’t tell you?
Possibly from a head shop?
This kid gets a lawyer or goes to jail is my guess. If the state has to pay for the lab work to prove it, they won’t be inclined to let him off easy is my thought. His refusal to identify the substance will very much count against him, I think.
Sounds very much like he thinks he can bullshit his way through this, thinks he knows a way to squirm out of it. I’d say he’s about to learn a painful life lesson.
So he smashed up his car, was caught driving around with the smell of pot in his car, and a substance he refuses to identify. Likely illegal from a headshop.Tries to wiseguy cops telling demanding they test in front of him, um no. Is such an ass in court the judge threatens him with contempt. It seems he arrogantly thought he could manipulate the cops and the court, to be honest. Sounds like this kid could use a life lesson to be perfectly honest.
Step back and let this kid learn something important, sounds like the best advice to me.
This “kid” can’t be facing any consequential jail time over this, can he?
Pure speculation: The substance may be Cannabidiol oil.
I’ve seen various claims that it’s not illegal because it contains no THC. That may possible be the case, but I’m not sure I’d risk being arrested on the word of a few websites.
i guess if the judge is the sole decider of “intelligently” and there’s no other vetting or determination process, then I’d say that part’s settled. I’m just not sure that that’s the case.
worth noting is the fact that they (the d.a.) were going to allow him to act as his own counsel if he wanted to plead guilty to a lessor charge. it was the not guilty to the judge on the original charge that made him ‘unable’ to represent himself.
that seems a bit inconsistent to me.
agreed
yep. pretty sketchy indeed.
however, i don’t think it’s his responsibility to prove it either is or isn’t something.
I’m fairly certain that responsibility lies with them.
he was an entertainer & a visionary. only saw him live once. I’ve still got the tshirt somewhere i bought after the show. it’s got his picture on the front & says “simon says go fuck yourself” on the back.
- not sure if what you said was meant as a whoosh to me somehow. if so, it was effective, cause i didn’t get it.
Do a search for “ free lawyer” or pro bono lawyer”, in your area. Or call the nearest law school, they’ll undoubtedly have some sort of law clinic dispensing free advice. Or get mom to call a women’s shelter…they won’t help him, but will probably have the contact of people who will. Or ask around at the Court office, again they can guide him to people who might help.
If the Judge is delaying this it means that s/he either thinks the kid is being railroaded or that if a conviction occurs a lengthy sentence is likely.
that’s good info, I’ll pass that on if it comes to that.
i agree he’s acting like a kid. he is still a kid basically. i did try to share some wisdom with him regarding how this could go wrong & how i would handle it (lawyer), but I’m not going to be the person to tell him to blindly accept everything you’re told in life just because the person telling you whatever it is has a badge or a gavel. there’s far too much evidence out there that, because they’re human, they can be as off base, wrong or scandalous as the next guy, and in some cases, due to the power they have, even more so. so, question authority if you’re so inclined, just do it respectfully.
i think we all can recall a day when youthful exuberance & thoughts we were powerful enough to effect change maybe or defend ourselves against ‘injustices by the man’. that was a while back for me.
he tried to do that, but did give into their demands.
everyone hopefully saw where he did, begrudgingly, hire a lawyer.
he didn’t come to me for advice, although i gave him some. I’ve known his mom since we were his age. she came by to visit cause they were in town & since her & i had spoken about this the other day on the phone i just brought it up while she brought family gifts needing wrapped in the house.
and you’ll get no argument from me, he’s playing the dumbass kid role very well.
but i honestly think my opinions bored him. he didn’t seem to give a rats clitoris what anyone thought but him about the deal.
again everyone, he did hire a lawyer, he just tried not to.
He should memorize and recite this, loudly, in court.
IANAL.
probably not.
what i told him though was that jails are full of people with ineffective or nonexistent counsel. it’s a situation where they support their own, often for good reason, and trying to circumvent either the people or the processes involved often doesn’t work out well.
my pot smoking days are well behind me, so i have absolutely no clue about any of it.
i see kayaker had entered this thread. everything I’ve read here indicates that he’s the local pro.
so kayaker, any thoughts on what said oily substance could be, if it did test positive for marijuana?
*the police have made that claim, the kid is adamant it’s not of or related.
There are oils for sale in PA that have zero THC, supposedly used for medicinal effects. There are also topical creams like this. I do not use nor want any non-psychoactive crap, personally.
Worst case scenario he had some canabbinoid. Lawyer up, get it reduced to disturbing the peace. Pay a fine and take a silly “Drugs R Bad” class.
When my favorite nephew was 19 he was a passenger in a car that got pulled over. The cop made the four teenagers get out and gave them a stern glare. He said if any of them had any contraband and they voluntarily gave it to him, he’d let them go. My nephew dug a roach out of his pocket and of course got busted. He used his one call to contact me and I helped arrange his lawyer. Piece of (space) cake. He’s 33 now and never told his mom (my sister).
I am relieved to hear he hired a lawyer. Now let’s hope he has the sense to follow HIS advice!
Wishing him Good Luck!
OTOH, having a lot of power does things to the mind of some people. Never underestimate the possibility that the judge is being a dick because he can. He told the guy he should get a lawyer, the kid disregarded his advice, so now he’ll show him who’s boss because an ignorant young kid without a lawyer can’t possibly know let alone argue the finer points of law about whether he can represent himself. it may have started as a warning because the charges are serious, but now it’s become a pissing match and the judge is the bigger dick… Or, he may be trying to do the kid a favour.
Also, is this a case of bait and switch? Has the DA filed serious charges on the theory that the kid will roll over and plead to a lesser charge? And the judge does not want a full trial on the worse charge?