Pennsylvania Underage Drinking Lawyer

Underage Drinking

License Suspension | Minors in Possession | Purchase of Alcohol | Breathalyzer | Montgomery | Bucks | Chester | Delaware | Philadelphia Counties

If you or a loved one have received a citation for underage drinking in Pennsylvania, whether it be by underage purchase, possession, or consumption, contact Pennsylvania Underage Drinking Lawyer, Basil D. Beck III, immediately upon getting your ticket at 610-239-8870.  I have been fighting underage drinking tickets for 20 years and have won cases in every county in Pennsylvania while concentrating in the areas of Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Bucks, and Philadelphia Counties.

Teenagers and young adults make mistakes. I believe a bigger mistake is leaving them with an underage drinking conviction that could keep them from getting to get into the school they want or getting the job they want.  Perhaps just as importantly, if you are convicted of underage drinking you will also lose your right to drive in Pennsylvania.   If you are under 21, it is a violation of 75 Sec. 6308 to purchase, consume, possess or transport alcohol.  Breathalyzers are the most common tool police use to prove their case.

Winning Your Case

The main defenses (there are more) to underage drinking are:

  • The defendant is over 21;
  • The breathalyzer used to detect alcohol was not operating correctly;
  • There was no “probable cause” for the police to give the defendant a breathalyzer test;
  • The alcohol that the police alleged belonged to the defendant was NOT theirs;
  • All the police have as evidence is the defendant’s admission that they drank. This is not sufficient evidence.

LICENSE SUSPENSION

A conviction for Underage Drinking or Minors in Possession of Alcohol suspends the defendant’s Pennsylvania driving privileges as follows:

  • First Offense – 90 days
  • Second Offense – 1 year
  • Third and Subsequent Offense – 2 years

DIVERSIONARY PROGRAMS

These are programs that some courts may offer a defendant that will enable them to avoid a conviction. They are designed to allow the defendant to do community service and/or attend alcohol awareness courses and safe driving school instead of having a hearing in order to dispose of the case.  Do not enter one of these programs until you consult with a Pennsylvania underage drinking lawyer. Participation in some of these programs, while allowing the young person to avoid a conviction, can still cause a suspension of their driving privileges.

In addition to the counties of Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia, I also represent clients in the cities of Radnor Twp, Wayne, West Chester, Bala Cynwyd, Narberth, Ardmore, and Doylestown, Media, and Newtown Square.