I was recently given a summons for of an alcoholic beverage under 21
in New York City (ABC law section 65c). I am 18 years old and this is
the first time this has happened to me. The incident occured when I
was sitting in a play ground in the evening. Three police officers
came up to my friend and me and asked to see our IDs and looked inside
a bag that contained a six-pack. The officers were very pushy and told
us to keep our hands upa nd searched us, and went trough our wallet
and pocketsl basically i feel like they were after soemthign bigger.
In the end both of us recieved a summons for possession (it was in a
bag, unopened). What can I expect from going to court, should I plead
not guity? Is there anythign that i should tell teh judge that might
alleviate the process and most importantly how will this affect me in
the future? If i am found guilty, will i have to answer yes to the
"have you ever been convicted..." question?

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Clarification of Question by summons-ga on 16 May 2005 04:50 PDT

According to the ABC law section 65c:
  4. No such determination shall operate as a disqualification of any
such person subsequently to hold public office, public employment, or as
a forfeiture of any right or privilege or to receive any license granted
by public authority; and no such person shall be denominated a criminal
by reason of such determination, nor shall such determination be deemed
a conviction.

Does this still mean that it is considered a crime? I had the
impression that that meant i could claim i have never been convicted
of commiting a crime.

Here is a somewhat related question that I answered some months ago
and you may find some of the comments useful. The offenses are a bit
different though and another researcher will no doubt give you some
more thorough advice.

Without question, if you plea quilty or are found guilty, you will,
for the rest of your days, be answering the question "have you ever
been convicted" with a "yes."  There may be some exceptions if your
record is somehow expunged.

Good luck,

weisstho-ga

Well, without looking at the law, I might add a little clarification.
First, the "have you ever been convicted" question is usually "Have
you ever been convicted of a felony?" or "Have you ever been convicted
of a crime punishable (not punished) by imprisonment by more than one
year?"  The punishment listed for that section in the code is:

If a determination is made sustaining such charge the court may impose
a fine not exceeding fifty dollars and/or completion of an alcohol
awareness program established pursuant to section 19.25 of the mental
hygiene law and/or an
appropriate amount of community service not to exceed thirty hours.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/nycodes/c5/a6.html

So, this is not a "felony" as traditionally defined (a crime which is
punishable by imprisonment of more than one year). You may have to
disclose this, for example, when applying for professional licensure
or perhaps sensitive government service (that requires you to disclose
ALL citations you've ever had, including traffic tickets), but most of
the job applications I've seen only asks if you've been convicted of a
felony or other specified crimes (sometimes minor non-alcohol related
drug possession crimes).

As to whether you should plead guilty -- that's legal advice that you
need to talk with an attorney about. If you're enrolled in college,
the college will often have a legal counseling center available for
free. If not, try to contact legal aid in your community-- this is a
case that they probably won't take, but they should be able to provide
you with some information. (There are some interesting issues in your
recounting of the events that might impact your case, but that's for a
lawyer in your jurisdiction to discuss with you.)

As to what you should expect-- that's a hard question. I haven't seen
the New York court system, and each system is a little different. This
would be especially different because it's a low-level violation, so
there may or may not be an "initial appearance" where a trial date is
set -- you may just be required to put on your proof right there if
you decide to plead not guilty. Once again, consult an attorney or at
least legal aid.
(P.S. an attorney may be able to be more effective in securing a more
favorable plea agreement, or, because this was your first time, might
be able to get them to drop the charges. It just depends upon whether
you want to pay an attorney or pay the state (and whether you want to
do the community service that could be imposed)).