Can a cop arrest or give a summons to a 16 year old with grocery bags that contain closed containers of beer?

Question

If you are 16 and pulled over by the cops, and you are doing nothing wrong, except walking with your friends and each of you has a bag with beer in it, can the cops legally search you if you say no, as well as give you a summons or arrest you. Or may you simply just say no to the question "Can we see what is in that bag?" (i.e. they have no reasonable suspicion beyond teenagers with black grocery bags.)

(This applies to United States law, more specifically Brooklyn, New York, as I know state and local laws can vary.)

Answer 1

In the fifty U.S. states, it is against the law for anyone under the age of twenty-one to posses, consume or buy any type of liquor including beers. Cops can't just stop you to ask what's in your bag unless they can seen what's in them in plain view (let's say, your bay is made of clear plastic). But if they have seen you buying liquor or beers in a store and you definitely look to be underage, not only you are going to jail but whoever sold you the beers as well. The law is very clear and it applies in all fifty states, zero tolerance on underage drinking. If you are underage, don't walk around with liquor in your bags, the mere possession of it gives intent to consume it. In NYC, you will get a mandatory sentence of twenty-five years in jail for possession of any illegal drug no matter how small the amount is. I don't know what the sentence is for possession of liquor while being underage. Please wait until you are 21. That's the law.

Answer 2

Cops can perform stop & frisks with no cause, or warrant, If you are holding something-a bag, for instance-they have the right to seperate you from it for their safety. Perhaps you have a gun in it. In seperating you from the bag, they may clearly see the beer without actually searching it. Seeing the beer gives them cause to search, arrest, ticket, or whatever else they want. Minors in possession of beer is a crime. " I was just carrying it home from the store " is not a valid defense because you have no right to buy it/pick it up at the store, or transport it home.

Answer 3

Every state in the US now has age 21 as the legal age to buy/consume alcohol. Even if given by the parents, if that child was to get behind the wheel of a car and get pulled over or hit or kill someone the parents could be arrested/ticketed for supplying alcohol to a minor.

Answer 4

I don't believe it is illegal for underage kids to simply hold beer, but I really don't know.

However, they can search those bags in two ways:
1) You give them permission OR
2) They have probable cause.

You can refuse to let them search, but if they believe they have probable cause, then they will search it anyway, regardless of whether they have your permission or not. This confuses some people because they think that once they refuse, the policeman can't do anymore, but they usually will ask permission just to make it easier on themselves so they don't have to worry about probable cause. You would be able to challenge the search of the bag in court if you don't believe the police officer had probable cause.

Answer 5

Since you must be 21 to purchase alcohol, yes they can arrest you for having un-opened beer on a public sidewalk, etc.

Now if you are at home and your old man or mother gives you a beer, that's different.

Answer 6

yeah the cops could give tickets cause the cops think that U WILL have a drink and ur not 21