If an officer stops me for suspicion of underage drinking and looks at my license and says "go home" will i be charged w/ MIP?

You have nothing to worry about. As you did not get a ticket and were not tested, you cannot be charged. There is no evidence against you and DA will not do anything given the facts. As you recognize, the civil demand letter is scary. However, it is all bark and no bite. There are no repercussions to ignoring a civil demand letter, or two or three. They will get tired of sending them and move on to more gullible people. There is no public record created by this letter. Nothing will appear on your credit file about this "shoplifting" incident. It will cost them more to sue than they can recover. That is why you can ignore the letters without fear of anything more. The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of California. Responses are based solely on California law unless stated otherwise.

From what you describe, it sounds very unlikely that you will be getting charged with an MIP. This is particularly true if the officer did not even take down any of your information, but simply looked at your license. That being said, a Minor in Possession charge is a gross misdemeanor in Washington state. A prosecuting attorney has two years from the date of the offense to file the charge. So, while you are not yet clear of the statute of limitations, it still seems unlikely that anything more will happen from this incident.

From what you describe, it sounds very unlikely that you will be getting charged with an MIP. This is particularly true if the officer did not even take down any of your information, but simply looked at your license. That being said, a Minor in Possession charge is a gross misdemeanor in Washington state. A prosecuting attorney has two years from the date of the offense to file the charge. So, while you are not yet clear of the statute of limitations, it still seems unlikely that anything more will happen from this incident.

In Washington, an MIP is a gross misdemeanor and can be charged up to two years after the date of the offense. From the facts in your question, the offense would be a "Minor in Public Exhibiting the Effects of Having Consumed Alcohol". In your case, that means you are under 21 years old, have the odor of alcohol on your breath AND are exhibiting the effects of having consumed alcohol. That could mean "stumbling", bloodshot/watery eyes, speech, coordination, an admission to drinking, etc. The officer could have written a report and sent it to the prosecutor's office for their review and let them decide whether to charge you or not. If it's been almost a year, I'd say that is unlikely that will happen. The more common way is the officer just writes you a ticket on the spot. Based on your description of the events, it sounds as if the officer has given you a break and you most likely will not be charged. There are no guarantees. You could be charged within the two year statute of limitations, but again, it sounds unlikely.