What to do about a public drunkenness citation?
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What to do about a public drunkenness citation?
I am a 22 year old nursing student about to graduate from an accredited nursing school. Last weekend I was visiting friends at another college and received a citation for public drunkenness. I have no other convictions of any kind, including parking tickets. I am normally a very responsible adult, have 3 jobs, participate in community service activities and receive good grades. I have spoken with the officer that made the arrest and he stated that I should be getting the citation in the mail. What is my next step?
Asked on April 10, 2012 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Out of all the offenses, this is pretty low on the scale of issues (hence the citation in the mail). You need to get yourself a good lawyer to make this go away. You need to show this was a brief lapse of judgment and that if you have no other convictions or charges, see if your state offers alternative or delayed convictions or if your criminal defense attorney can talk to the prosecutor about dropping the charges period. You may need to do some community service but ultimately you do not want to have this pop up on your employment checks and so forth.
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