Below are 7 Podcast episodes of J.Tom describing your rights and responsibilities on Spring Break. Topics include driving, drinking, and sexual relations to help keep your vacation safe and fun. Download them to iTunes, put them on your iPod, and jam out to J.Tom’s advice while driving to the beach!
J.Tom’s Spring Break Tips – “jPod” Podcasts!
By J.Tom Morgan on March 5th, 2010J.Tom’s Spring Break tips – in pdf, to read & print & keep in your glove compartment.
By J.Tom Morgan on February 17th, 20102010_Spring Break Tips_Ignorance is No Defense
What you absolutely MUST know before going on Spring Break! (& some generally useful thoughts on Spring Break topics – e.g., sex, alcohol, drugs, and driving.)
A sorority has already taped this pdf to the doors of every house bedroom – and we first posted a few hours ago. Follow their lead, and you &/or your friends &/or your children may stay safe and happy and out of Spring Break trouble, too!
J.Tom’s top tips on how to stay out of trouble on your Spring Break.
By J.Tom Morgan on February 16th, 2010
jtom@jtommorganlaw.com • (404) 687-1002
Dear friends,
Spring Break is coming up, and I have compiled my annual list of things you should know before the big vacation. These are not words of legal advice (I have to say that because I am a lawyer), but rather random thoughts you should keep in mind.
These thoughts are based on my 30+ years of practicing law, and on representing young people who find themselves in trouble during their vacations. And yes, long before Facebook could forever remind us of where we went and what we did, I, too, went on Spring Break. I am not advocating or suggesting you engage in any of the illicit or illegal activities described below; I do want you to be informed of your rights and responsibilities under the law.
BE CAREFUL, BE SAFE, BE HAPPY, & HAVE FUN. Read this, print this, store it in your glove compartment, and keep my number in your speed dial (404-218-0697). Hopefully, the only time you dial those digits is to text me to tell me what a good time you are having.
DRIVING DURING VACAY: Making sure you actually get to Spring Break
When pulled over by the police . . .
Make sure you have your driver’s license and the registration of the vehicle, especially if it’s not your car (e.g., you’re the designated driver in your friend’s car). Also, if you have a fake ID, do NOT hand it to the police when you’re pulled over. This happens way too often, both by accident (drivers get nervous and give the first thing they find in their wallets with a picture on it) and when people under 21 think they won’t get in trouble if the cops think they’re of legal age. You will be in a LOT more trouble if you give a fake ID instead of your own, even if you have alcohol in the vehicle. More on that in a moment.
Be polite to the police, and say “Yes, Sir,” or “No, Ma’am.” Do not lie to the cops, but do not talk yourself into trouble, either. If you are asked incriminating questions, request to call your attorney before you say anything else.
Trying to talk your way out of an arrest will probably just lead to more trouble. Telling the officer, “Man, it has been a horrible winter in Athens and I haven’t seen a girl in a bikini in months! Please don’t arrest me!” will not garner a lot of sympathy. I have never met a client who talked his way out of trouble, but I know many who talked their way into trouble. Remember, fish get caught for two reasons: 1) they open their mouths, or 2) they are swimming with the wrong school of fish and got caught in the net. Be careful what you say and whom you hang with.
Searching your vehicle
If you are stopped, please make sure you haven’t given the officer probable cause to search your car. A cloud of marijuana smoke in the vehicle would be a reason for searching the car. Also, an open container of alcohol in the car will result in a search. If the officer can see anything that looks suspicious – a beer bottle on the floor, small plastic bags with something green in them, a weapon – through any of the car windows, he likely has probable cause to search your car.
If you are stopped for a traffic violation, there is a good chance an officer will ask permission to search your car. Remember, you do not have to give consent to search your car, no matter how much pressure the officer puts on you! Though, if you give consent, even if the officer had no probable cause to search your car, you have waived your rights. Also, the fact that you did not give consent cannot be used as a basis for the officer then searching the vehicle.
Officers will try to pressure you into giving consent by saying, “I can get a search warrant if you don’t give me consent to search your car so why don’t you make it easy on both of us.” If you refuse to give consent, politely tell the officer you are not giving consent to search your vehicle. It is not wise to tell the officer to go get his damn warrant and pick up a box of donuts along the way.
Remember, if the officer actually has probable cause to search a car, he doesn’t have to get a search warrant or ask for permission to search your car. Telling you that he can get a search warrant is a trick to try to get you to give consent. You do NOT have to consent.
Some officers will try to trick a student, even lie to a student, to get consent to search the car. Typically, the officer will separate the driver from the passengers. He may then tell the driver that the passengers told him contraband is in the car. Whether or not the passengers have said anything at all is irrelevant; the driver may now think he should go ahead and give consent to search – even though legally he does NOT have to consent. Unfortunately, there is no prohibition from tricking someone into giving consent.
Who gets arrested if illegal things (alcohol, drugs, etc) are in the car?
If contraband is found in the cab of the vehicle, the driver and the passengers will be arrested. Any person who has access to the contraband will be presumed to be in possession. If the contraband is found only on one person, e.g., inside a pocket, or inside the person’s purse or wallet, there’s a chance only that person will be arrested. However, you all could be arrested, and the lawyers needed to fight possession charges are very expensive.
Bottom line: DON’T travel with contraband, e.g., alcohol or weed, in your vehicle. Wait until you get to your final destination to make your purchases. If you are transporting alcohol, 1) make sure at least one person in the car is at least 21; 2) make sure that the containers are NOT open; and 3) put the alcohol in the trunk. When asked, the (of legal age) passenger can say the 5+ cases of beer in the trunk are his.
If you are under 21 years old, DO NOT EVEN THINK about driving a car with alcohol on your breath. It takes less than one beer for most people under 21 to be considered D.U.I.
The roads to fun can lead to some hefty speeding tickets
Ashburn, GA, (I-75 south of Cordele, north of Tifton) and Dublin, GA, (I-16 southeast of Macon) are speed traps. Deputies will be trolling these areas looking for students on Spring Break. If you are traveling in either of these directions, set your GPS designating the town as an intermittent location and slow down.
Ashburn has a sign several miles north of town designating it as a construction site and telling you to lower the speed to 55. You will miss it because there probably has not been any construction in that area since Eisenhower built the interstate system in the 1950s. I know students and parents who spent more on their speeding fine in Ashburn than they spent on Spring Break.
I admit that I wish I-16 could be an autobahn from Macon to Savannah, but alas, we have speed limits. The designated speed also changes more times than Lady GaGa changes outfits. The deputies around Dublin look for any reason to stop a car driven by a young person with a Gwinnett, DeKalb, Fulton, or Cobb County license plate. I actually represented a student last year who was stopped for having a burned out TAG light! No kidding. Make sure all your lights, e.g., headlights, brake lights, tail lights, and tag light, are working before you hit the road. Don’t give them a valid reason for stopping you.
DRINKING DURING VACAY
The legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years old, right? Most of the time.
Florida may seem like another country during Spring Break, but it is still in the U.S.A. and therefore is required – if it wants any federal money for its highways – to have a law prohibiting alcohol consumption for persons under 21. The good news is that unless you are doing something stupid while drinking, like fighting or urinating on a statue of a Florida Gator (I had to say that because I am a Bulldog), you typically will be cited and have to pay a large fine, but it will not show up on your record. If you are in Georgia, watch out: there is a good chance you will be arrested, booked-in, and fingerprinted for a M.I.P. arrest. When this happens, the arrest will show up on your rap sheet for LIFE. If you are currently on probation for an M.I.P. (minor in possession of alcohol) conviction, your probation will be revoked with a subsequent M.I.P. arrest.
Did you know you can (sometimes) legally drink in Georgia if you’re under 21 years old? If you go on Spring Break to a house owned by your parents and a parent is chaperoning, he/she may give you (but NOT your friends) alcohol in the house when he/she is around. It’s up to Mom & Dad.
Fake IDs
Since September 11th, 2001, using fake identification has become an even bigger deal. In Georgia, if you use someone else’s ID (e.g., your 21 year old sorority sister gives you her replacement driver’s license, with her picture and info on it) and get caught, it is a FELONY. Misrepresenting your self as someone else who actually exists has major legal consequences. If you use an ID that is truly fake and was made for YOU – one that was manufactured with a picture of you on it, though perhaps lists a different birthday – conviction for possession of this is a misdemeanor. Neither legal situation is good, but one is far worse.
HOOKING UP DURING VACAY
Hooking up on the beach under the stars is only romantic in the movies. It would be hard to explain to your parents why you were arrested for indecent exposure while butt naked on the beach in the middle of the night. Also, sand flies are pesky little critters and they love to bite private parts.
Make sure – especially if you’ve been drinking – that consent for sexual activities between all people involved is 100%. Even more, make sure that your partner is sober enough to consent. There’s a BIG difference between morning-after regret and realizing the next morning that your partner was too drunk to remember consenting to sleeping with you. This could lead to HUGE legal issues, so be aware and beware (and make sure your partner is aware, too).
The age of sexual consent in Georgia is 16 years old. BUT the 18th birthday is also important for sex-related things: if your partner is not 18 years old and indecent photos or videos are taken (e.g., a cell phone picture of a girl with her shirt off), this could result in a felony charge for manufacturing child pornography for BOTH of you. Even if your partner takes a picture of him/herself and sends it to you, without your encouragement or even knowledge this is happening, if you’re in possession of this – or, worse, send it to your friends – you could be guilty of possession and distribution of child pornography. This is a MAJOR felony with lots and lots of jail time. And NOT how you want to end your semester
Just because she (or he!) says she is 18 years old doesn’t mean she is actually 18. If necessary, check passports and birth certificates (seriously) – ESPECIALLY if you (or your partner) decide to record or photograph your sexual experience. It doesn’t matter what age she or he tells you: if your partner is under the state’s age of consent, you could be guilty of a sex crime. No joke; this can be a big, big deal.
GOING ABROAD FOR VACAY
If you are traveling out of country during Spring Break, the laws of that country apply to you. The legal age for alcohol consumption in Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, and most of the Caribbean is 18 years old. Note: your parents or chaperones may apply their own rules.
Although 18 is the legal drinking age, there is great discrepancy as to what age of consumption is actually enforced. However, it probably is not a good idea to saddle up to a bar in Los Cabos and order a Dos Equis if you’re under 18 and your voice hasn’t changed.
The use of weed seems far more prevalent in some places than here in the States. The last time I was in Jamaica, someone was trying to sell me (as a 45 year old) weed every ten feet. Be careful. The person trying to sell you the weed could easily be an undercover cop. You don’t want to be arrested and booked in a foreign jail. My Bar license doesn’t apply in other countries.
Before coming back to this country, dispose of any alcohol or weed. Although possession of marijuana less than an ounce is a misdemeanor, trying to smuggle it back in is a felony. Also, while it may be legal to purchase and consume alcohol in the country you are visiting, the moment you land back in the good old U.S.A. our laws apply. You can get arrested for M.I.P. just for bringing back your favorite tequila. Telling the customs agent that the Silver Patron is a gift for your favorite lawyer (me) won’t get you through customs without a confiscation, and maybe an arrest.
WHEN YOU COME HOME, SAFE & SOUND
Finally, don’t post all the pictures of your Spring Break good times on Facebook for the world to see. College recruiters and prospective employers routinely ask students to show them their postings. Also, anything ever posted to Facebook is saved on their servers FOREVER – even if you take the postings down later – so avoid Facebook altogether when it comes to remembering your Spring Break. What happens on Spring Break . . . well, you get the idea.