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The judge acknowledged my non-drinker status (as attested to by several people who knew me), but assessed the same Minor in Possession fine as them. I took it like a man.

No, you were run over by a power crazed judge and rather than being upset about your rights being violated, you thanked them. Basically, you suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.

I don't suffer from anyone's syndrome, Jeff (except maybe my own), and take umbrage at your suggestion. To say otherwise would lead one to believe that I am unwilling to take personal responsibility for the consequences of my decisions because of some "debilitating, stress-induced connection with my long-term captors".

Hardly the case.

The only connection I had with my captors was that I knew all of their kids from school, and knew that most of those kids were probably heading to the mountains with at least as much beer as we had. We just got caught.

Plain and simple, I chose to be in a vehicle where the law was being broken, and I accepted the consequences. About the only possible claim I may have had to any mitigating circumstances was that at 19, an excess of testosterone clouded my judgment. I'm sure there would have been some scantily clad girls involved somewhere.

The judge (actually the father of a friend, and a friend of my father's) was constrained by state statute, and not wanting to show favoritism, did what he had to do.

A night in the hoosegow (probably just to keep us off the streets), was enough to convince me I didn't ever want to repeat that experience.

And a $15.00 fine (the minimum the state allowed), was really pretty soft.

And, I learned to choose my associates wisely.

Good to see some sense popping up on this thread. A lot of these posters seem to have no idea that an MIP is much more than a simple fine these days. No way I am letting the system get their hands on my kid if there is an ounce of breath in my body and a $ in my bank account. In a situation like this I would hire the most bloodthirsty lawyer that I could afford to put these local brown shirts through the wringer and then kick my idiot kid's ass myself. The kid can pay me back with yard work.

No, you were run over by a power crazed judge and rather than being upset about your rights being violated, you thanked them. Basically, you suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.

What?! Have you never been in contact with the cops? The alcohol was in the car. He was in the car. He was under age. Nothing else matters. If it is within his immediate reach, it is Minor In Possession! It was available to him whether or not he was drinking, that is the charge. That is how the law states it! How is it you cannot comprehend that?

Were you ever a teenager or were you just born "of age" and never had to worry about it?

Okay, lets try to make it a little easier for you to comprehend......

Lets say you are 16. Your beard comes in earlier than most of your buddies. Because of this you can get away with buying beer easier than everyone else. You are not a drinker but your buddies are and they convince you to buy them a beer. Upon leaving the store you are pulled over. No one in the car has even had a sip of beer yet. There are 4 of you. Who gets the ticket for MIP?

Answer: EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

If you know of someplace in the US this is not the law I would like to here about it.