The same this just recently happened to me, but I am 18. A few weeks ago some friends and I went camping at High Falls (GA) State Park. There were four of us in attendance: Me, my boyfiend Alex, my friend Michelle and a guy named Drew that she brought at the last minute. All of us are eighteen or over, except Drew who was 17. Drew had brought some alcohol with him, including hard liquor and "girly" smirnoffs, so we were all gathered around the picnic table and fire having a little party. While Alex and Drew took shot after shot, Michelle and I are lightweights and kept to to a couple of smirnoffs each. .... Eventually, Drew and Alex are hammered and Michelle and I are feeling buzzed for sure. We settle into our respective tents and Michelle and Drew begin to fight about who knows what, he flips out and cranks his car. Alex ran after him to try to get the keys but he was gone. A few minutes later, he comes walking back up the the campsite and informs us that he totalled his car by hitting a tree three campsites down (nearly hitting people). Obviously, the cops came and got him, totally understandable. Unfortunately, they saw it fit to investigate our site and pulled all three of us out of our tents (I had honestly been asleep, I think Alex went to help Drew try to move his truck at some point) at 3am to breathalyze us and take us to jail. He told me I blew a .07 which I think is total crap but I never saw the reading and it wasnt recorded on my citation so I dont think it matters. The official charge: "Possession/Consumption of Alcohol Under Age 21". Come to find out, Drew was just put on 5 years probation the week before for attempting to purchase $300 worth of ecstasy AND refused to take the breath test when he hit the tree, so I'm pretty sure he's screwed no matter what he does. He has a lawyer, to which he told that a deer jumped out in front of him. He expects us to testify that he wasnt drinking that night, or planning on staying all night... but that makes it seem like someone other than him provided the alcohol (ie: ONE OF US) and he is obviously the only repeat offender and honestly the only reason why we got caught because we werent causing a disturbance or anything like that. So... for my questions, though I know you aren't my judge and have no idea how she will react to the case: Do you think that the three "good kids" involved will end up with a criminal record for someone else's mistake? None of us except for Drew have a lawyer to represent us... and I wonder if we should plea nolo? And what is a range of possible sentences? I'm prepared to pay the $270 fine, but other than that I've heard everything from community service to probation to house arrest... And if we do end up having misdemeanors on our records, do they ever go away? Are those types of offenses the ones that are asked about on job applications? And though I don't think it matters in this case, is it important to mention that we never had our Miranda rights read? We were never told we were being arrested (they just told us to wait in the car, then a cop got in it and drove off), and we were never allowed phone calls or anything like that. I don't have a lawyer and my parents have NO IDEA. I go to court Thursday of this week.