Minor In Possession

Minor In Possession

One of the criminal misdemeanors that occurs most frequently with people under 21, is a Minor In Possession ticket. A minor in possession ticket might be for possession of alcohol, marijuana, or some other controlled substance. The State of Michigan had a problem with it’s MIP statute. A portion of the statute allowed police to make people under 21 years of age submit to a preliminary breath test(PBT) whenever the police suspected the individual may have been consuming alcohol. In 2007 a Federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that that portion of Michigan’s law was violation of the Fourth Amendment. Since that ruling the police in Michigan must have a search warrant to make a person under 21 blow a PBT when the police officer suspects the individual has been drinking and they are under 21. This doesn’t apply to when you are DRVING a car. In Michigan all licensed drivers when they sign their driver’s license agree to submit to a PBT if a police officer suspects they are driving under the influence. EVERYONE under 21 who may be around alcohol needs to know what the Minor In Possession law is in their State.