Is anyone familiar with the process? Is it necessary to hire an attorney?
Yes
I am not familiar with the NJ process. It might not be necessary to hire an attorney but could be worthwhile to have at least an initial consultation with one. That is, try to find out if in cases like this, the underage person usually is represented by an attorney and try to find out what the usual disposition is, attorney or no attorney.
My feeling is that if the underage person was indeed drinking, pleading guilty probably is not a bad thing to do, but this depends on the facts and on whether the person is a juvenile (i.e., under age 18) or is 18 or older but not yet 21.
Two experiences with this. (sigh)
College student in our home state of Maryland: the officer who cited them was very open about the process, and gave them good advice about the procedures to follow. It was very important that our son did all the community service hours and took the mandatory on line class and had written signed documentation in hand (this was 9 years ago) BEFORE he showed up for his court date. The charge was automatically expunged after a couple of years with no more citations.
Another citation (disorderly conduct - which is a lesser charge in PA) was in Pennsylvania. Kid was in the presence of an open bottle, but had not consumed any. For that one, even though the court process was similar, it happened in a different state, and we did hire a local Pennsylvania lawyer to be sure everything was done correctly. That lawyer also handled the expungement paperwork.
It really depends on the circumstances, but if you have any doubts at all about the process, hire a lawyer local to wherever the citation was given. And be SURE the kid shows up neat, clean, early and with all his paperwork correctly done and signed. We watched a non-compliant kid get his head get chewed off by a judge. It wasn’t pretty.
And perhaps most importantly, if the incident will be expunged after a time. But I have no knowledge of NJ specifically.
Thanks - attorney has been hired
Please note that just because an expungement happens doesn’t mean you can answer that you were never charged with a crime. For many government security purposes or application, you must still reveal the incident. Make sure you understand exactly how to answer on future government paperwork. When doing adoption paperwork for a foreign adoption, I know several people who ran into trouble with this. It doesn’t stop them from adopting, but saying ‘no’ when the answer is ‘yes’ does get the petition dismissed, and the penalty is that you cannot apply again for a year.
My niece married a foreigner (Canadian!). He had been ‘arrested’ one night, but the procedure was that he was just held until morning, and there was no record of the arrest or any charges. When applying for his visa/green card, he answered yes, and since there was no record it cause endless trouble. Finally, after 2 years it was approved. In his case the answer should have been no, he was never arrested, never received a citation, no paperwork was entered into any system.
Make sure you know what the answer is and how any expungement works.
I’m glad you got a lawyer. My youngest brother was issued a citation for underage drinking when on Spring Break a long time ago. He figured it was out of state, so he could ignore it. Well, it turned into a warrant for felony arrest when he didn’t respond. Then he had to get my parents and a lawyer involved in the bigger mess.
Glad you got a lawyer. And make sure everything is followed up on. I know a kid arrested for underage drinking at out of state college. Parents got lawyer, kid did all requirements, they thought expunged. A few years later when kid applied for Global/TSA, answered no to having been arrested. Got denied, because arrest never officially expunged, supposedly due to clerical error at court. Took lots of time, many phone calls to get fixed.
I love a world where a kid is not old enough to buy a beer but is old enough to face adult consequences for drinking one.
My kid got cited for an open can, (under 21, at college, just off campus.) She wasn’t even carrying a can, someone else was. She called the clerk, learned the fine, paid it with the paperwork. The end. Btw, never made that mistake again. Did later get a major govt grant.
Yes, I was furious (at her.) But how big a problem the initial situation is will vary by community. You don’t always need an attorney. This was not a felony.
I’m curious: if you were charged with something, but the charges were dropped and subsequently expunged, do you have to say you were charged?
If asked if you were charged, and you were charged, then the answer is YES. If it asks if you were convicted, the answer is NO.
The whole expunging or sealing juvenile records is tricky. They do come up on some records, as the above poster said for TSA/global.
Then what is the point of expunging?
^^Because in the vast majority of instances, you can not be asked about “charges”, only felony convictions. Government security clearances are a different matter. Regular employers are at their peril asking about anything other than pretty recent felonies that have some sort of nexus to the job the applicant will be performing.
This question is often asked on the nursing boards, and the answer usually goes something like this:
“For the purposes of your average employer background check, getting a charge expunged means it never happened. But for other entities, such as licensing boards, government security clearances, TSA /Global Entry/Passport, FBI checks, those expunged charges are all there in black in white. So if you are applying for or renewing a nursing license, for example, you would need to disclose expunged charges, while you would not have to for the purposes of applying for a job at General Hospital.”
For something as silly as underage drinking, I wouldn’t think there is anything to hide, expunged or not. So you may as well disclose. Other more serious issue would be different.
My daughter got a “minor consumption” ticket in San Diego while she was in college. It was evidently equivalent to a traffic ticket. She paid the $100 fine and it has never been an issue. She has Global Entry, a teaching credential, etc…