I have worked in law enforcement for 15 yrs but it has only been in one jurisdiction which has been economically poor for many, many years (for a lot longer than the current economic downturn). I have seen sometimes in that jurisdiction that if people politely and courteously explained to the judge presiding at the hearing what their financial situation was (along with any other circumstances), they would be given a "break" in the sense that a sort of payment plan was worked out for them. If they did not keep up their end of the payments and when they were due, a warrant for their arrest would be issued by the court. I would recommend that if you are fortunate enough to be able to work out a payment plan for your court costs, etc, and if you later on are having difficulty keeping up with the payments, contact the court again and let them know right away so they can work with you. The court is a lot harder on people who let their court costs add up and more lenient towards people they see who are trying to work with the situation. I cannot speak for the judge who will handle your hearing; some judges are more strict than others, but if you are straightforward and honest with the judge you will have (hopefully) a better chance of getting things to go in your favor. Also I would recommend watching your demeanor when in the presence of the judge. Try not to come across as arrogant. Be as respectful and courteous as you can (think of it this way: the judge sees irate, unhappy people all day long, so if you are another irate person he/she has to deal with they will have no problem throwing the book at you. On the other hand if you act as levelheaded as you can, you stand out in a positive way and that can only help you). I have heard of many cases where people just blew up in court and would get angry and they would end up having more charges added to their case by the judge (example: a girl was brought to court on charges of aggravated battery on a peace officer; when she went to court she totally lost it and started yelling at the judge after she heard his ruling. Result? she got additional community service time and was obligated by the court to attend anger management classes--which might have actually been a good thing in her case.)
Take care of this situation and all that it brings up for you. Don't let neglecting it turn into a bigger snowball for your future. Your are still very young and most people at some time or another get busted for drinking. Yeah, you may have broken a law and the officers are obligated to enforce that law no matter how much you disagree with the law, but at the same time you can get past this positively by attending to it in court and so long as you keep out of any future activities that violate the law your future should be all right (in terms of criminal background checks; depending upon your state law enforcement statutes I believe underage consumption is usually a misdemeanor and not a felony, but then I don't know the particulars of your case, like if there are other charges, so I cannot say for certain in your situation). Good luck with your situation and I hope this was useful information for you.
