My friends and I were drinking from 7-11 Big Gulp cups and walking towards the boardwalk. We were stopped by an officer who asked what was in our cups and one of my friends showed the officer that he, in fact, had beer in his cup. The officer then asked two more of my friends if they had alcohol in their cups, and they admitted they did. I was the last person the officer asked and I stared straight at him and said nothing (not even a nod). The officers also never checked my cup (or the second two people) to see its contents. The officers wrote us tickets for Drinking in Public, but not underage possession of alcohol - we were all 20. (It was "prom weekend" apparently and the town was collecting its dues without filling up its station). I didn't want to try to fight the officer at the scene and resist the search because I didn't know if he had probable cause based on the other people having alcohol. I did not want to risk "annoying" the officer for fear of getting arrested and getting a misdemeanor for underage drinking 3 months from my twenty-first birthday. Also, if he did not have probable cause the officer still could have arrested my friends, and I would rather them not get arrested and me get a citation.
Based on this I have a few questions, mostly just for future reference.
1. Should I have said that I refuse to divulge the contents of my beverage and that I do not consent to a search? Does being with people who are drinking alcohol give the officer probable to search me?
2. Is this worth any more effort on my part, or should I just accept what happened and pay the fine? (I know so many of my rights and I try so hard not to get taken advantage of, but I get nervous and it happens!) Should I say, "at least it's just a citation" or "I never admitted anything and he never checked my cup!" Of course, I'm sure the police report says that I admitted to having alcohol, so I guess I should just cut my losses and pay the fine. Phooey.
PS. I think we got tricked even more because the officer asked, "Do the rest of you have alcohol in your cups?" and one of the girls nodded "yes". I think that included me in her admission.
Based on this I have a few questions, mostly just for future reference.
1. Should I have said that I refuse to divulge the contents of my beverage and that I do not consent to a search? Does being with people who are drinking alcohol give the officer probable to search me?
2. Is this worth any more effort on my part, or should I just accept what happened and pay the fine? (I know so many of my rights and I try so hard not to get taken advantage of, but I get nervous and it happens!) Should I say, "at least it's just a citation" or "I never admitted anything and he never checked my cup!" Of course, I'm sure the police report says that I admitted to having alcohol, so I guess I should just cut my losses and pay the fine. Phooey.
PS. I think we got tricked even more because the officer asked, "Do the rest of you have alcohol in your cups?" and one of the girls nodded "yes". I think that included me in her admission.
