A local case is making national headlines as an Elk Rapids husband, wife and teenage daughter are accused of hosting a party that supplied alcohol to minors. So the story goes, the party goers allegedly each paid the family for pizza and alcohol. Stories flew at school the next week, and eventually the trio ended up with criminal charges.
Each family member faces charges from the incident relating to providing alcohol to minors. Furnishing alcohol to a minor is a violation of Michigan law MCL 436.1701. The law says that no person may furnish alcoholic liquor to a minor. It’s a crime to knowingly give alcohol to a minor or to fail to take reasonable steps to figure out if the person is a minor.
For a first offense, furnishing alcohol to a minor in Michigan carries a penalty of up to sixty days in jail and a $1,000. You might also have to perform community service and serve a term of probation. If you’re convicted of a second offense, possible penalties go up to ninety days in jail and a $2,500. If giving the alcohol to a minor contributes to someone’s death, you’ve committed a felony. You can also lose your driver’s license, which means that you may need a Grand Traverse driver’s license attorney to help you get your license back.
In the Grand Traverse County criminal law case, the prosecutor has made an interesting plea offer. That is, if the father pleads guilty to the three counts against him, the daughter may plead guilty to just minor in possession.
What, wait? The father has to take the fall to spare his teenage daughter a serious criminal record? Doesn’t that sound a little unfair? Is that constitutional?
Yes, it’s unfair, but it’s also completely constitutional.
Michigan and U.S. law allows a prosecutor to offer leniency for a defendant’s family member in exchange for a guilty plea if the person given the leniency has either been charged with a crime or reasonably could be charged with a crime. Federal courts have ruled consistently that as long as the prosecutor has a good faith basis for believing that the person given leniency could be charged with a crime, they’re generally within constitutional limitations to make a plea offer that gives leniency to a third party. See U.S. v Marquez. The Marquez court wrote: “The question in every case resolved by a guilty plea is whether the plea is voluntary…Since a defendant’s plea is not rendered involuntary because he enters it to save himself many years in prison, it is difficult to see why the law should not permit the defendant to negotiate a plea that confers a similar benefit on others.”
If there’s a larger question as to whether a plea is voluntary, the court can consider the leniency offered to a family member in exchange for the plea as part of the larger picture. See United States v. Daniels, 821 F.2d 76, 80 (1st Cir. 1987). However, in and of itself, a plea offer that gives leniency to a family member is constitutional, even if it might not be the best way for a prosecutor to conduct business.
If you’re facing criminal charges, we’re Grand Traverse criminal lawyers and we can help. We’re happy to meet with you to talk about your case and investigate whether law enforcement or the police acted in an unconstitutional way in your case. Our first meeting is always free. Contact our team of Traverse City criminal law attorneys today.