I say deny everything and report your credit card stolen.








ps. I am not a lawyer so you probably shouldn't listen to me.

Haha, this isn't Law and Order. Most defense lawyers will want the whole story, and those that don't will ask the questions they need to prepare themselves.

Talk to a lawyer (not some yahoo who advertises for personal injury on TV), and follow their advice.

This is what I was referring to...they know what questions the judge will ask, and get the answer to those and leave out the rest of the story. Although since she's already spilled the whole thing to the cop, I think he's going to need the whole story.

Agreed. Something this simple, and where there was confusion and different things said, you need to be as clear as possible in what happened. Save the drama for TV. If you have a lawyer, they need to know everything they can to give you the best advice.

Clients shoot themselves in the foot all the time by not being entirely truthful with their attorneys or leaving out parts of stories that they were a) embarassed by or b) didn't think were important.

Agreed. Exactly what I was getting at.

Thanks for everyone's advice. One of my sisters' neighbors is a lawyer, so I think I'm going to give him a call on Sunday. My parents originally freaked out but they've calmed down about it a lot. I also found out that I can receive a fine of up to $500, and it stays on my record for seven years.

I'll let everyone know how things go on Monday.. hopefully it won't be *too* severe!

I'm glad you've decided to do that. I would suggest calling your sisters' neighbor as soon as possible just to be sure you give him enough time to assess the situation. Good luck! :)

Just thought I'd fill you all in on what's been going on with this situation.

I went to the police station on Monday for my appointment with the officer, and he wasn't there. On Tuesday he called me during class, didn't leave a number, and when I tried to call back on the number he called from, I didn't get anyone on an answering machiene, even though I called 3 times throughout the afternoon. Wednesday morning I woke up and had 2 missed calls from him, again no number to return to. I decided to Google him to get his extension, so I left him a message explaining why he hadn't heard back from me.

When he called back, he was a complete a**hole to me. He told me he'll put warrants out for my arrest unless I tell him who gave me the ID. He said they can get me for forgery (because I signed the citation under a different name) which is a felony, underage, open container, obstructing an officer, and fake ID. The he launched into how I'll never get a job with htis on my record, no one wants to hire a criminal, things like that. By this point I'm crying and he asked if I was familiar with my miranda rights. He paraphrased them to me and I said I understood, so he asked if I knew the girl whose ID I have. I said I didn't want to answer anything until I spoke with my parents. He seemed angry and said as long as I cooperated and told him what he wanted to know, he'll lessen the charges against me. He kept reiterating if I don't cooperate and I'm not 100% honest, he'll go ahead and arrest me. I had to tell him twice that I didn't feel comfortable answering anything without speaking to someone first. Finally he said OK, then recommended that I don't get a lawyer because it's just a waste of money.

I was so upset and when I told my parents, they FLIPPED OUT. My mom was furious that the cop would treat me like that and threaten to arrest me. They called a Morgantown lawyer for me, and they're waiting to hear back from him today. They think the cop was just manipulating me and taking advantage of me since I told him I had no idea what I was doing because I've never even gotten a speeding ticket. My dad talked to his friend, who is a lawyer, and he said as long as I haven't said anything yet then I should be OK if I show up with a lawyer on Friday, when I have to go back to the police station.

I'm completely freaking out at this point, crying nonstop, and am convinced I'm going to get myself and my friends (2 of them are involved with the ID) in trouble. I don't know what to do at all.

Dude, STOP TALKING TO THIS GUY UNTIL YOU HAVE A LAWYER!

I can't believe he brought up Miranda rights over the freakin' phone.

Seriously. If he hasn't arrested you by now, he's not going to. Plus, he's not the one that determines what charges are brought against you, that's the DA's job.

Actually this is incorrect; in some areas it is the police that bring the charges. Depending on the jurisdiction, the prosecutor may only screen a small number of the total cases.

In any case, TALK TO A LAWYER. You're going to get a lot of opinions from people here who aren't lawyers, and the ones who are can't directly help you. Find a reputable lawyer, talk to him or her, and go from there.

This is why we say:

DO NOT SPEAK TO THE POLICE AND DO NOT SPEAK TO A PROSECUTOR, UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

Never, ever, ever trust the police or anything they tell you. Seriously. If I had $1 for every time I had a client in jail say "Oh, the cop said that if I told him what happened, I'd get to go home," I'd have, well, quite a few dollars, and maybe I could use some of them to bail out the dudes sittin' in the pokey because they told the cop what happened and did not get to go home.

I do think that many minor legal dilemmas can be handled on your own -- however, as in this case, when a cop is getting all crazy on you, you're smart to get a lawyer. Make sure to tell your lawyer everything you told the cops from the beginning -- and good luck!

It was within your rights to tell the cop that you would no longer be speaking with him and hang up the phone. If he arrested you, I can't imagine that the charges would stick. If he calls you again, tell him that you will speak with him in person...with your lawyer present...and leave it at that.

EDIT: I should have read the rest of the thread...looks like the cop got pissed off.


From someone who went to WVU...

The police here generally don't give a shit. Unless you managed to piss them off by lying or acting like an ass you'll get a fine and maybe some community service.

However, using a fake is a felony. So if they decide to stick you...well, there isn't much a lawyer or anyone else can do for you.