I was charged drinking alcohol on the beach and have a court date. I am a foreign student and am wondering what is the best way to handle this
Question Details: At the time the officers showed up, there was no alcohol present. The wine bottle was covered up within a plastic bag by an additional brown paper bag. As soon as they arrived, one of them jumpt of their beach vehicles and went through the bag without saying anything. Two coffee cups me and my girlfriend used were also empty. He threatened us also with arresting us on the spot.
Although I do not practice law in the State of Hawaii, here are my initial impressions. Although public drinking is not the "crime of the century", given the fact that you are not an american citizen I suggest you should hire an attorney as soon as possible. You need to be advised that any criminal conviction could potentially be used to deport you, exclude your future entry into the United States, and/or interfere with any attempt to obtain citizenship in the future. With an attorney, it may be able to obtain a favorable resolution of this matter that will not result in any future potential immigration consequences; however, it would be foolish to suffer serious consequences in the future as a result of this matter simply because you failed to obtain an attorney at an early stage of the proceedings. Good luck.
