Parsippany Underage Drinking Charges – NJSA 2C:33-15

Fight An Underage Alcohol Charge Morris County NJ

If you need assistance with an underage drinking charge in Morris County NJ, we can help. Travis J. Tormey and his team of criminal defense lawyers recently represented a client who was charged with underage drinking in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:33-15. Our client, an eighteen (18) year old young man who was scheduled to leave for the marines, had no prior record and was facing a $1,000 fine, up to six (6) months in the county jail, and a permanent criminal charge on his record if convicted of this offense.

The New Jersey statute which governs a criminal offense for underage possession of alcohol is N.J.S.A. 2C:33-15. This statute provides, in pertinent part:

a. Any person under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages who knowingly possesses without legal authority or who knowingly consumes any alcoholic beverage in any school, public conveyance, public place, or place of public assembly, or motor vehicle, is guilty of a disorderly persons offense, and shall be fined not less than $ 500.00.

b. Whenever this offense is committed in a motor vehicle, the court shall, in addition to the sentence authorized for the offense, suspend or postpone for six months the driving privilege of the defendant. Upon the conviction of any person under this section, the court shall forward a report to the Division of Motor Vehicles stating the first and last day of the suspension or postponement period imposed by the court pursuant to this section. If a person at the time of the imposition of a sentence is less than 17 years of age, the period of license postponement, including a suspension or postponement of the privilege of operating a motorized bicycle, shall commence on the day the sentence is imposed and shall run for a period of six months after the person reaches the age of 17 years.

Arrested, Summons for Underage Drinking in Parsippany? We can help

Luckily, our criminal defense lawyers were able to negotiate a favorable plea deal with the municipal prosecutor in the Parsippany Municipal Court. Our client agreed to plead guilty to a downgraded local ordinance violation which resulted in a fine and no criminal record. This allowed him to preserve his future and maintain his clean record. Our client and his parents were extremely satisfied with the terrific result in this case.