What You Need to Know to Help Your College Student Facing Miinor in Possession Charges

What you don’t know about your child’s college experience might be what happens when classes conclude. Are you aware that your daughter’s roommate lines up empty bottles on a shelf as if they are trophies? Are you aware that her roommate drives herself home from these parties? Are you aware that your child attends parties where alcohol is present even though he or she is not 21?
College, for many, is the first time students have been outside the watchful eye of parents. And whether attending in state or out of state, students are vulnerable to a party scene where underage drinking is present. For the first time, students are accountable to themselves and in doing so, may be subject to missteps along the way. Pressure to engage in the party scene is strong and even well grounded students may find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hard to believe, but your son or daughter who might be preparing for a carer in business law might need a lawyer.
Why not a Public Defender? Public defenders are overworked. They have more cases than they can properly give attention to. In more than half of the states, public defenders are not allowed to turn down a case they don’t have enough time for. Those lawyers would need about a year and a half of work time to adequately complete the amount of work they are given in a typical year. This is not the attorney you want when facing a minor in possession or a DUI.
What Are Other Advantages of Hiring a Lawyer? Not only will a lawyer be able to dedicate more time to your case, he or she will be skilled at bargaining charges down to ones with lesser consequences. For instance, a minor in possession charge could come with consequences such as suspension of a driver’s license, which could inhibit your child’s ability to get to and from work or even to campus for classes.
Why Else Might My College Student Need a Lawyer? It may come a surprise, but many college students who work part-time jobs are not fully aware of the parameters of workman’s compensation. Accidents that occur at work should be covered by the employer, but college students are likely to brush off what they feel are minor injuries occurring at work. The most common (85%) of workman’s comp claims is slipping on the floor. A lot of students find part-time work as waitresses or servers in a kitchen where slips are even more likely. What you need in this case is an attorney skilled in business law. In all likelihood, your son or daughter is an hourly employee, and 22% of those slip and fall accidents result in the loss of at least 31 days from work. You need a lawyer to help mitigate those losses.
Your college son or daughter still needs your help, especially when they are away from home. Whether they dream of a future in nursing, architecture, education, business law or the arts, mitigating an MIP charge should not keep them from reaching their dreams. An attorney at law can keep their drams on track. You can’t turn back the clock, but you can help them move ahead.