I think my grandsons civil rights were violated. HELP?

my grandson is only 13 years old and yesterday he went riding with some of his friends. Later i got a call from a family member called me and said that he saw the car he was in pulled over at a gas station just down the road from my house and all the kids were sitting outside on the ground. so me and my wife went there and when we pulled up the police were searching the car then they started searching the kids and when they searched my kid they found a small bag of weed in his pocket then the cop cuffed him and put him in the back seat of the cruiser. at this point they still had not read him his rights.we got upset and they told us to back away then the cop got in the car and questioned him about where they got the weed and he told them exactly where it was purchased. he still had not been read his rights. after a long time while he cried in the car the the cop called a probation officer and released him to us. he was the only one arrested. now he has to go to court for possesion.

you need to know. he is a good kid. he does great in school and does all his chores and is respectful to his elders. When the cops pulled up the other kids handed him the weed and told him to hold it and said that he would'nt be searched because of his age.i know he was wrong but it is'nt fair because they found a pipe and scales and papers in the car and did'nt arrest the driver. i know he should'nt be hanging with these kids and will never do it again.
i can't say to much because i smoke weed also.all you people think you are so right and then go and drink alcohol. that is a drug also but the legislators separate the two because they don't want to admit that they do drugs also.ni grew up with an alcoholic father and saw it destroy him and ruin all our lives. weed is'nt even addictive and a recent study proved that it does NOT destroy brain cells as we were all told.We must stop throwing our kids in jail with hardened criminals where they just learn how to be real crooks.

Not sure it depend on your state. Most state have what is "probably cause". That is if they see something that makes them suppect you of foul play they can detain and even search a place. Let say they pull you over for speeding in your car and you roll down your window now they smell oder of pot. That "probably cause." See how this works? Now, here is the catch in a car they are not allowed to open a glove box or the trunk not even a cooler, with out a search warrant, but if you do not give them permission then they will hold you there until they get one. Personal search in all fifty states is not allowed in minors unless a parent or gardin person says it okay. One exception if they think you have a gun or weapon they can patted you down for that. If they feel such an item they then can search that pocket. So a good lawyer can get all charges thrown out. If the cop is the one that removed the weed from your child pocket. See the catch. If the cop tells him to empty his pockets and he does then your son is busted. But he is a minor and drug possession is minor charge in most state. Chances are he will pay a fine of a hundred dollars and be release to you. This is a case where I would talk to attorny Most give a free concellitation. I would go to court on this and fight it. Just because it is a charge. Just so the truth comes out. If your grandson is a person that is in the habbit of lying. I would stress to him. The truth is important in this case. It is better to confess that this was his weed then to lye in court because If he is caught in a lye in court they can and will punish him more then just being caught with a little weed. I have a question why did they call a probation officer was he already on probation? In this case this is not a first time in trouble with the law and he and you need to get a grip on real life or this kid good or not going to spend some real time behind bars. I had a friend that I told this same thing to when her son was fifteen. She said the same thing you are saying. At 18 he stoled and forge two of his mothers checks to buy drugs. Because he had some minor charges as a minor. He got seven years forgery got out after 90 days on probation stoled a ATM card the next year and used it to get cash 300 dollars. Got 5 years for that and rest of 7 years. now he is 25 years old and is getting out of jail next year. He has manage to get some college in jail. Swears to me he learned his lession. But I just do not know. He had to give up smoking so maybe the drugs will not be a problem this time either. This time he did get two years of group thearpy and anger management. Do not think this is such a minor deal, if he is already on probation. Get some professional help for him. It is free if he is on probation. Kids do things to either get your or their friends to notice them. Find out now, before it too late. Find out now what is wrong with him. Do you realize that 1 out of 10 persons in the USA have been in jail for more then a year for drugs or drinking. Most of them for stupid things like what your grandson has done. Drugs are a big thing now not like when we were kids back in the seventies or even the eighties.

No his rights were not violated...

Lady he got busted for Possesion of an Illegal Drug...
He is a minor and you should have better control
over him...

But it does sound like some one dropped a
dime on him or the kids that were in the car...
Never know who a Narc is !!!!

no...just because he got cuffed and put in the cruiser and talked to doesnt mean he got arrested. THEY RELEASED HIM they only have to read his rights to him if he gets arrested. now let me explain what arrested is to you since you think getting talked to by an officer is getting "arrested"...they get you out of the car and then they question you and find out theres a warrant or some other reason for you to be in trouble drugs, violence, etc. then they tell you youre under arrest and tell you your rights as they cuff you and put you in the back seat of the squad car then take you to jail NOT TALK TO YOU AND LET YOU GO HOME. might as well explain this for you as well, when the judge, or for juvenilles the referee, puts him on probation, i know youre probably going to think hes going to jail, but really hes probably going to have to go to narcotics anonymous (NA), do community service, and do piss tests a few times a week. but if he violates probation, he will go to jail. but if he gets lucky, charges will get knocked down to something less severe, i was originally supposed to be a convicted felon serving 15 yrs max for a 2nd degree home invasion which i didnt do, but it being my first offense got brought down to a 1 year misdemeanor of 1 count of larceny and all i got was 6 months probo. 40 hrs comm. srvc. and once a month meeting with a probation officer, couldnt be late or skip school and had to pay probation fees and court fees. cost me about 6 grand so do expect this to be cheap, seeing as hes only 13 he dont got that kind of money, so guess whos pockets this is coming out of?! the best advice i can give is dont worry, hes just going to be on probation for maybe a year at most if this is his first offense, when he turns 18 or 21 itll be off his record, itll cost you a lot of money but itll be gone and forgotten soon enough

47 with a 13 year old grandson and you are trying to justify a 13 year old having weed?

It reminds me that I need to call my mother and thank her for raising me properly.

you can sue the police department and the specific officer that arrested him for not reading his rights. even if the court does find him guilty they cant do anything because it wasnt legal unless he was told his rights. this is the miranda act. so go for it and sue em. good luck

The same thing happened to my little cousin. I was driving by his old house and saw him and two of his friends cuffed face down in the front yard. They found a little bit of weed on him and not his friends so he got it on his record. Now, he wasn't allowed to live on campus when he registered for his first year of college.
If they never read your grandson's rights to him and released him to you then he wasn't really arrested. Same thing as what happened to my cousin.

Is this a question about whether your grandson's civil rights were violated or whether pot should be legal?

Hire a lawyer in your jurisdiction that is familiar with Juvenile criminal law.

I bet you can get it tossed on the grounds that a juvenile cannot be questioned without his parents present.
You MUST teach your grandchildren about their CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, and how to handle themselves with police, including NOT INFORMING (which is dangerous to your grandchild).
You MUST also help your kid out by teaching your grandchild that marijuana or alcohol, or any other substance, should not be consumed at his age, as it is bad for his developing brain. I support legal marijuana for adults, but I can't tell you it's okay for kids, and mom or dad is not doing their job.
I'm a parent, and I wouldn't drink or get high while pregnant, nor would I allow my daughters to get high.

A few things:

at 13 he is really too young to be riding around with older kids.

does he already have a probation officer at just 13, if so he needs to straighten his behind out, and you should not be worried about his civil rights, but worried about his future

He was the only one arrested because he had the weed on him.

They might have read him his rights before you got there, but even if they didn't, it won't matter much. What the boy said to them might be excluded as evidence, but the weed in his pocket will be all the evidence they need anyway.

Sorry, but a 13 year old has no business going "riding" in a car with teenage friends. I'm not surprised that they caught the attention of law enforcement.

Go to court and get this boy into a drug diversion program. You are heading for disaster here.

EDIT - you don't have to be arrested for Miranda rights to apply. You have to be detained in a "custodial" setting, where you have reason to believe you cannot leave. Actual arrest is not required.

Although many states and police departments have a policy of waiting for a parent to be present for questioning of a minor, the US constitution does not require this. A child can be questioned without a parent present.

A child is frequently released to family without being formally arrested, taken to the police station, etc. This is because the juvenile court system is completely different from the adult system. The state will summon the child and the child's legal guardians to court for a "dependency" hearing. The state will claim that the child must be declared a ward of the court because his criminal behavior gives the state jurisdiction over him. If he is made a "juvenile dependent", he will then be subject to the orders of the juvenile court for punishment and rehabilitation. If things get worse and not better, a juvenile dependent can be removed from his home and sent to juvenile detention or foster care.

Two other things:

"I was holding it for someone else" is the oldest and most common defense heard in criminal court. It is not the most believable.

Finally--if drugs and alcohol are really not an issue for you and your family these days, where are this child's parents? If you continue your own illegal drug use, you should prepare yourself to lose custody of this child.

nice try. your grandson broke the law. nice that he's only 13 and getting busted. he's got a great future ahead of him. and why was he released to a probation officer? is he already in trouble??