HOW SERIOUS ARE MINOR IN POSSESSION CHARGES IN KANSAS?
If you are under twenty-one and you are in possession of alcohol or some beer, you can be convicted as a minor of possession. It is the same standard, you have to have knowledge and you have to have possession or exercise or dominion and control over it. The only hiccup is there is an exception for low point beer. In other words 3/2 beer. If you are provided low point beer by your parents and you are under the supervision of your parents, then you cannot be charged with MIP. But, that is really the only nuance to it. It is possible to go to jail on an MIP charge, but it virtually never happens. It is a less than thirty day sentence. The main thing that happens to people with MIP they do not anticipate that they lose their driver’s license. If you get an MIP conviction, you have to lose your driver’s license for thirty days per the state law.
Long Term Consequences Associated With An MIP Charge In Kansas
Technically, you would have to disclose that to employers whenever they ask if you have been convicted of a misdemeanor before because it is a criminal offense. If your driver’s license is suspended, your insurance cost is going to go up, but that will stay on your driving record and it shows as an alcohol suspension. Other than that, most courts are not going to punish somebody for a DUI or for MIP and MIPs are quite common. Most people are not going to hold it against you too much, but it is obviously better to not have it on your record as opposed to the alternative.
What Is An Open Container?
Open container is when someone gets pulled over or operating a vehicle or even a passenger in a vehicle and they are transporting an open alcohol container. These charges are not terribly serious. They are usually an unclassified misdemeanor. The fines can go up, get pretty high if you have multiple ones. But they are not generally jail-able offense. It is possible to go to jail, but they are not generally jail-able offenses.
Would An MIP Aggravate A DUI Charge In Kansas?
They are not going to enhance, nor are they making it any worse. You will just pick up an open container charge as well if you are transporting. They are two complete separate crimes. Some prosecutors will use the open container in your car as kind of trying to show proof that you are intoxicated. Just because you have an open container does not mean you are intoxicated.
How Is Disorderly Conduct Defined Under Kansas Law?
Disorderly conduct is kind of a catchall. If an officer wants to give you a charge for something and a lot of times you are going to find yourself charged with disorderly conduct. Disorderly conduct is going to be either brawling or fighting, but they cannot determine who caused the fight, like a pushing match. The most common way is if you are yelling obscenities or saying something in public that offends people or generally incites a person to fight, then you are going to be charged with disorderly conduct. It is usually a class C misdemeanor which is the lowest level of misdemeanor in Kansas.
They are not terribly serious charges, but it is something you want to get off your record if you can because it is a criminal offense. You will have to disclose it to employers when you are applying for jobs. Most people do not have any idea of what a lot of these crimes are and how people hold them against you even they do not even know that a disorderly conduct could be you yelling at a friend across the bar. If you are using curse words and somebody got offended by it, or it could be pretty benign conduct generally, but it does not stop the prosecutors from prosecuting people for it.