MIP charges in Shawnee Kansas will cause problems for underage housepartying kids

I was watching the news last night when I saw this story about some underage kids drinking in a Shawnee Kansas home.  It appears that the home owner's son had "broke in" to the house to throw a party.  At that party there were over a dozen kids drinking alcohol.  A neighbor phoned in the disturbance and the Police showed up.  Several kids got arrested, others got a citation for MIP.

Here is the story.

If you happen to be one of these parent or you find yourself in a similar situation, here are some things you need to know.

You child is looking at:
-up to one month in jail
-$200 -$500 Minimum Fine (depending on age)
-40 Hours of Community Service
-required attendance in alcohol program
-Mandatory suspended driver's license

The next thing you need to know it that your child needs an attorney.  Your child does not want to take a conviction if at all possible.  An MIP conviction will stay on their criminal record forever, and isn't even eligible to be expunged for three years after the time they get off probation.  There are specific defenses to MIP cases.  Pay a lttle bit of money, get an attorney, help your kids.  It will save you a huge headache in the long run.

KU's Ben Mclemore gets arrested...Why this actually is kind of a big deal for him.

By now everyone already knows that Ben Mclemore was arrested for failure to appear on a MIP charge.  If you haven't seen this already here is the article in the KC Star.

KU’s McLemore arrested after failing to appear in court on underage drinking charge

By: J. Brady McCollough of the Kansas City Star

A first semester that was already frustrating for Kansas freshman guard Ben McLemore got worse Tuesday when he was arrested after failing to appear in court.  KU coach Bill Self said that McLemore, a St. Louis native, was cited for possession of alcohol on Dec. 6 and did not show up for his court date.  Self said the incident “is obviously not acceptable. Ben, not 21, was given a citation earlier for possession of alcohol at Abe and Jake’s, a local Lawrence establishment. He exercised poor judgment. He also did not let anyone know that he had been cited and had a court appearance because, certainly, we would have made sure he was there.  “This will be a learning experience for him and probably a fairly costly one. Any other discipline will be handled in-house.”

McLemore, KU’s highest-ranked freshman at No. 34 nationally by Rivals.com, was ruled ineligible to play this season by the NCAA because of issues related to his high school academic transcripts. McLemore has not been allowed to practice this semester but is expected to join the Jayhawks for practice after finals are completed later this week.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/13/3318773/kus-mclemore-arrested-after-failing.html#ixzz1gYBvNpfS

Now, first of all it is pretty stupid to get arrested because you failed to appear at a court date.  People need to learn that it is not a suggestion that you show up to court.  You can't not go because you had to work or had school.  The only reasons to miss court are if you are dead or in jail somewhere else.  Those are really the only two reasons.  

Second, A MIP or Minor in Possession has some serious consequences if he is convicted.  For example, he will loose his driver's license.  It's mandatory.  He will have to pay a fine, (minimum of $200) he can get up to 30 days in jail,  he has to go to an alcohol education class, he has to do 40 hrs community service.  There are worse things he could have done but it's not just a simple pay a fine and be done with it case.

Third, if he takes a conviction he will have a criminal record.  With the internet it's very easy for a prospective employer to run a background check on an applicant and hold it against them if something shows up.

Fourth, because he got arrested for failure to appear now he is going to have an arrest record.  Arrest records are just as easy to access and an employer can hold them against you also.

Fifth,  if he takes a conviction he is going to have to wait three years after he gets off probation before he is able to have the record expunged, and he will have to go through all the hassle.

Sixth, his car insurance will surely increase.  The mandatory suspension will be recorded on his driving record and his insurance company will have access to that information.

Now in the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world that this kid got caught drinking.  I think we are all not under the impression college kids don't drink.  But MIPs have serious consequences and kids need to know what they are getting into before they take a plea or go into court.  I really hope that he will realize his mistake and take care of it responsibly.  It's just a mistake that a lot of kids make, so don't be too hard on the kid.  Rock Chalk!