I got into some rather frightening trouble with the law last night. My friend and I are both 18, and we were out on some rather secluded docks looking at the stars with two lady friends, both of them 16. A cop pulled up and started asking us for identification and when she realized that the two girls with us were minors and out past curfew, she called in two other patrol cars. My friend and I were legal to do pretty much whatever we wanted but it was a pretty big deal that the minors were with us. One officer looked at me and immediately began to question me, asking if I was on X. Of course I denied it, although we had been doing some different stuff that night that gives you dry mouth and a twitching jaw, so I can see why he might think that. They asked to search my car, so I consented because I was almost positive it was clean and I didn’t want any trouble. They spent about 30 minutes scouring the carpet until they came up with a tiny but obvious amount of marijuana that had been accidentally scattered throughout the car on previous occasions. They pretty much ganged up on me trying to get me to admit stuff and trying to confuse me into some sort of confession. I’ve read that cops will do that to make you say more than you want to, so I tried to keep my gaurd and not be too cooperative with my answers so I wouldn’t slip up. They finally took me aside, told me that they could press charges for the amount they had found, but if I was cooperative and quiet they would let it slide and the my friend and I could leave. They seemed pretty sincere, so I shut my mouth and ran with it until we got away. It was a rude awakening to some of the stupider stuff I’ve been getting into, but that’s not the point. My question is: can they still press charges? They specifically told me that they would not prosecute, and that if I was cooperative I would be a “lucky man and get off free tonight.” I’m unsure about the legal process on this, and I’m afraid I’ll find a subpoena in my mail box in a week or something. I’ve heard that cops can lie about stuff to get you to admit things, and it would really blow goats to find out that they were just saying that for some reason that I can’t see. Any legal advice would be much appreciated.
You are fine. They most likely did not want to do the paperwork for a teaspoon of weed found in your carpets. It is common…Had you had an ounce on you, that would have been a different story all together.
You are very lucky.
Parental hat on
Consider yourself extremely fortunate, they had something better to do than book you on a small posession charge. That said, I hope you learned your lesson, if you choose to smoke some pot, do it safely, and do not drive…especially if you are not used to it. And DO NOT FORGET, YOU HAD THE LIVES OF THREE OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR CONTROL…DON’T THINK OF JUST YOURSELF WHILST DRIVING STONED!!
Parental Hat off
No they will not subpoena you a week from now, bare in mind, if they wanted to arrest you, they would have.
Thanks for the advice.
Um, now, to answer the legal point in question, namely, are the authorities precluded from prosecuting you based on the assertion of the police that if you co-operate you won’t be charged?
Answer, basically, no. There may, however, be limits on what they would be able to admit into evidence against you, depending upon the actual facts of the situation.
Let me also point out that, as an adult, in the presence of minors, with whom one supsects you likely had at least some inclination to engage in behaviour which could be construed as sexual, you might also have been facing charges for sex with a minor.
Presumably, Antiquarian would like you to “bear” in mind the advice given, not “bare” it; else you might have been in real trouble that night… 
They have a curfew in Atlanta?
IANAL, but as far as I know, unless you are given a specific grant of immunity, a cop’s verbal assurance means nothing. The police can lie during any investigation or interrogation. The only place they are not legally permitted to lie is when testifying or giving a deposition. Likewise, the verbal assurance of a street constable has no binding authority over that constable’s superiors’ acts.
That being said, you’re probably too small-fry to bother chasing down at this point–so long as you keep your nose clean. However, if you persist in acting like you have been (aka a moron), then expect more hassles. Hope you’re not too pretty, son…
One more thing: Street cops do not have the legal authority to grant immunity.
Atlanta has docks?? Or stars for that matter.
Never give cops your permission to search anything. Always a bad idea. You have the right to refuse a search, and if you would have refused, they would have never found your marijuana.
What Renob said regarding giving the cops consent to search your car is very, very good advice. There was an SDMB thread on this very matter, so if you’re not familiar with how to search for SDMB threads, learn now.
This was a good thread with lots of well-constructed arguments on both sides. However, I thought the best arguments came down on the “never consent to a search” side.
And:
Huh?
I think the cops would have a very hard time in court trying to prove a “sex with a minor” charge. What’s the evidence? Sititing on a dock? Looking at stars? I just don’t see it.
If the Altanta cops can bust you for an “inclination to behave in behaviour” then it’s worse down there that I thought.
On the other hand, G.W. Bush just “busted” Iraq for an “inclination to behave in behaviour,” so who knows …
D’oh!
Make that “engage in behaviour,” not “behave in behaviour.”
:smack:
From what you’ve said:
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The general opinion is correct that the police are not bound by an assurance that “they won’t prosecute.” That decision is made by the District Attorney in your area, not the police. The police are required to write up everything that went down (and are encouraged to do so by the fact that they want a clear record of events in case any questions arise). Police CANNOT grant you immunity. They can choose not to issue a citation, unless a citizen witness to the “crime” chooses to press charges, in which case the police will usually write up a report, they may issue a citation, then forward their report to the DA with their “recommendation.” Or they can, within a certain amount of tme from the incident, change their mind, and file charges against you. I’m unfamiliar with Georgia’s penalties for possession of less than an ounce, but if it’s anything like California’s, it’s probably too much hassle to deal with, especially if they let it slide that night. If, however, you cause grief (in their opinion) to another police officer within the stated amount of time, you just might possibly (though very unlikely) see this issue pop up.
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Given the facts as you describe, you have very little likelihood of a “sex with minors” chargfe, since said is, by your facts, unprovable. You may, however, have been charged (had the police been inclined, and the statute written properly) been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Keep in mind, I have absolutely no knowledge of Georgia criminal law, and am not licensed to practice law in Georgia. In fact, while I am a lawyer, I am not YOUR lawyer, and this opinion is not to be construed as legal advice, nor is it an offer or acceptance of legal representation. If you have any questions, PLEASE SEEK COMPETENT COUNSEL IN YOUR JURISDICTION.
Where are there docks in Atlanta? I see stars all the time, but I live outside the perimeter.
While we’re on the subject, you don’t have to say anything at all. I’m not saying that playing mum is necessarily your best course of action, but it’s an option. And you can be certain that if you don’t say anything, you’re not saying anything you shouldn’t say.
A teaspoon of dope is actually a fair amount. Any amount that’s enough to test for THC is enough to prosecute. I’ve written people up on tiny little goop I scooped out of a pipe.
And an ounce. Antiquarian, do you realize how much an ounce is?
Most of the people I’ve caught with weed had less than 10 grams.
But you’re propbably right about them being too lazy to write it up.
I must strongly disagree. I have a couple of friends that just happen to be police officers. They have told me the best policy when dealing with the police is tell the truth and be cooperative. Both have come across situations as the OP described many times. If either came across a situation as described and the person of interest lied or denied the request to look in the car, they would cuff and stuff the person then search the vehicle anyway. The Atlanta police officer probably would have done the same to the OP. He would have gotten a ride to the lockup, his car impounded and I would be sure some serious charges would have been forthcoming. The officer did pretty much what he wanted to do, scare the crap out of him. Looks like he did a fair job of it too.
Once again, my stupidity really isn’t the issue here. I’m almost positive that there wouldn’t be any statutory charges because we obviously had our clothes on and weren’t currently necking or anything when the policewoman came to the car. Sorry, but I forgot to mention that we weren’t in Atlanta at the time, we were in Peachtree City, a really wealthy golf cart suburb about half an hour south of the city. The cops there are widely known to be pretty anal, considering the low amount of (what I would consider) actual crime there. I didn’t want to remain silent and ask for a lawyer, because I was hoping to end it as fast as possible. I’ve read that you should refuse a search if you think you have any contraband in the vehicle, but the carpet of my car really slipped my mind. I don’t deal with police officers very often because I don’t do illegal things very often, so of course I was frightened at the insane amount of rediculous accusations that three police officers could come up with at 4:30 in the morning in 40 degree weather. No offense to those of you who have friends “that just happen to be police officers,” but these people were disrespectful, unprofessional, and downright illogical. They threw random accusations at me, including everything from doing X, to trafficking marijuana, to vandalism. Did they expect me to break down in tears in front of them and admit every illegal activity I’ve ever been a part of? They claimed again and again that I was a liar, but they were obviously dodging every question I had relating to procedure. Do they expect honesty when they give none? I tried my best to look cooperative, I made every attempt to cooperate before I was treated like shit, and I most likely won’t ever get to talk to my girl ever again. A trip to some docks with her to look at some pretty stars brought alot of needless shit down on my head. Nothing against you guys, but fuck that system, and fuck those police officers.
Were you ever actually under arrest and given your Miranda warnings? If not, I doubt anything you said will be useful to the police in a future prosecution. IANAL anywhere, BTW. Did they dump the pot on the ground, or did they preserve it?
No arrest or miranda rights, and I didn’t see them dump it on the ground, but I’m pretty sure that they were sincere about it. I recently heard from my buddy that the police also confiscated a straw from one of the purses belonging to one of the girls in my car. They claimed the straw had a white residue on it and sent it to the lab. The officers didn’t ever inform me about the straw, and I honestly have no clue. If any of the people in my car were doing blow or ice or something with the straw, I sure as hell didn’t know about it. Does anybody think I’ll get into trouble for what was in a girls purse that was in my car? I don’t see any logic in that argument.
Once again, IANAL. If contraband is discovered in confines arguably not under your control (i.e., one od the sweet 16s’ purse), it would be hard to press a possession case against you.
But now I’m getting nervous about addressing legal questions when IANAL.