I was at a bar and left with my drink still in my hand. Much to my surprise, I was confronted by a pack of police who took the beer out of my hand and asked for my ID. I presented the ID that was in my wallet, the fake, and was cuffed and taken to the station. I was issued three tickets:
1) Drinking underage
2) Presenting another's ID as myself
3) Drinking on the street

I believe only the first two tickets went through as I misplaced the third, called the station requesting information about it and discovered that they had no idea what I was talking about.


I live in Gainesville, FL, a college town where this happens often. I've talked to a student that lives around here who said I will most likely be offered differed prosecution where I would have to pay $125 to a charity and agree not to get caught doing anything for 4 months. I also talked to lawyers that said I could lose my license for 6 months and possibly go to jail. I have to attend two trials, one for presenting the false ID and the other for drinking underage (and possibly drinking on the street).

My original hunch was to plead no contest at both trials and request community service, but I have conflicting advice and don't know the law enough myself to make an educated decision.

Please let me know what punishment I'm most likely to receive and how I can handle the situation.

Any advice is very appreciated.

Thanks,
Eric

Yes, no contest and community service is common with this type of thing.

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I also talked to lawyers that said I could lose my license for 6 months and possibly go to jail.

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What have these lawyers advised you concerning how to proceed? That's you cue. It sounds like there may be a mixup of some paperwork that could work out to your advantage. You'll want to hire an attorney with experience in representing defendants in the municipal court where your trials are scheduled to take place. A plea bargain might be in the works here.

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

yes, no contest and community service is common with this type of thing.

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Fr_Chuck, you said in another forum:

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But honestly get an attorney make a deal, no one should be getting probation and having the charge show up on their record. Most judges will do community service for this if approached properly

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Do you think I should get an attorney or can I appear in court myself? And either way, can you give me some tips on how to approach the situation properly to get community service and not something more severe.

Also, I heard from somebody that if I get deferred prosecution, I may only have to pay to a charity and not get caught for 4 months. If that's the case, does the charge ever get expunged?

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Originally Posted by epheterson

Do you think I should get an attorney

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Hello e:

Duh, yeah!!

excon