Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
Criminal Defense in Utah
Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
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Minor in Possession | Salt Lake City Defense Attorney

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What is the Crime of “Minor in Possession” in Utah
Defenses to Minor in Possession
Penalties for Minor in Possession
The Minor in Possession Charge and Your Utah Driver’s License
What to Do If You’ve Been Charged with Minor in Possession

What is the Crime of “Minor in Possession” in Utah

There are multiple ways to violate Utah statute 32B-4-409, which is commonly called “Minor in Possession,” and for many of them you don’t really have to possess any alcohol at all. You can be found guilty if you are under 21 and you do any of the following things in the state:

  • purchase an alcoholic product;
  • try to purchase an alcoholic product;
  • ask another person to purchase an alcoholic product for you;
  • possess an alcoholic product;
  • consume an alcoholic product; or
  • have alcohol in your body.

If there were a way to penalize a minor thinking really hard about alcohol, that might be a crime too.

Defenses to Minor in Possession

There are only two “affirmative” defenses to Minor in Possession, and those are when the Alcohol in question was either:

  • Used for medicinal purposes
  • Used as part of a religious ceremony

There’s also the old fashioned way of defending yourself, of course, which is to make the prosecution prove you actually committed the crime, or to argue that the police violated your constitutional rights while investigating you.  Depending on the situation, that can be successful too.

Penalties for Minor in Possession in Utah

Violating Utah statute 32B-4-409 in any of the ways described above is a Class B misdemeanor, so the maximum penalties are $1,000 in fines and 6 months in jail. Of course, it is very rare to be sentenced to jail for anywhere near the maximum on a first offense.  More likely is a sentence involving fines, probably an alcohol class, and possibly a jail sentence suspended for community service.  There is also the matter of your driver’s license (see below).

Minor in Possession and your Utah Driver’s License

For some reason, Utah has mandated that minors who possess alcohol lose their license for 1 year upon conviction, even if the alcohol and the minor were nowhere near a car.  There is a way to shorten this suspension period, or sometimes avoid it all together but it takes some doing.

What to Do if You’ve Been Charged with Minor in Possession

If you want to try to keep your driver’s license and keep a conviction off your record, contact me to discuss your case.  Initial consultations are free, so even if you are not sure you want to hire an attorney or not sure you can afford it, it certainly doesn’t hurt to discuss your options.

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Recognition for Dain Smoland's NORML Membership

Some Posts from My Blog

  • Utah Legislature Temporarily Suspends Expungement Filing Fees!
  • Parolees Become Eligible for 402 Reductions in Utah
  • Utah’s “Clean Slate” Law, and Automatic Expungements
  • Utah Legalizes Medical Marijuana! Kinda! Sort Of!
  • Utah Eases Expungement Eligibility, Especially for Prior Drug Convictions!

Courts Where I Take Cases

I am licensed to practice criminal law anywhere in Utah, but my office is in Salt Lake City so I focus my defense practice on Salt Lake County and the surrounding counties: Weber, Davis, Utah, Summit, Wasatch, Tooele.

That includes any of the state, city, or federal courts located in Salt Lake City, West Jordan, South Jordan, West Valley, Heber, Park City, Provo, Ogden, Farmington, Bountiful, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, Millcreek, South Salt Lake, Grantsville, Tooele, Orem, American Fork, Sandy, Draper, Centerville, Layton, Kaysville, and anywhere else within an hour's drive of Salt Lake. I'll also go down to Carbon County (Price and Helper), because I like that drive!

For locations in Utah outside that area, just contact me and we'll talk about it.

Categories of my blog posts

  • 402 Reductions
  • Constitutional Law
    • Fifth Amendment
    • Search and Seizure
  • Drug Laws
    • Marijuana Laws
  • Expungement Law
  • Interesting Legal News
  • Theft Laws
    • Shoplifting
  • Traffic Laws
    • Driver's License Laws
    • DUI Laws
  • Uncategorized

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