Serving Alcohol to Minors Can Have Serious Implications

Answer a simple question, first. When you were 21 years old, did you ever be the friend who was eligible for drinking so got beers for the underage members of your group? Or did you ever have that 20-year-old college senior and friend who came looking for some cocktail peach schnapps or PBR at a party?

Well, I completely understand and can even relate to these at some level because I am now a criminal defense attorney in Morgantown and have dealt with a number of DUI defense cases of which some are even for clients who study at my alma mater, West Virginia University. I too have been a college student at one point in time so these things don’t need to be explained to me.

But what is important is how so many young people don’t understand that underage drinking or purchasing alcohol for minors, otherwise referred to as the “college crimes”, are actually quite serious and have deeper and graver implications. Here is an example that will make you understand better.

A 25-year-old woman in Washington County had been sentenced to two years probation with two hundred hours of community service on the basis of charges associated with a party that she had hosted about four years ago.

The woman, who was 21 years of age then, had purchased a case of beer for a party at her home and a 19-year-old boy present at this get-together apparently had some beers followed by an attempt to drive back home, according to the media reports. He had merely made it to about a half a mile on the road when his car met with a fatal crash.

This is a horrible incident, of course. But you should remember this as a lesson. Because it does not matter whether you are two months older than someone or twenty years older, you are an adult with the eligible age of drinking. So, ultimately you have to show responsibility for your younger friends and what happens to them.

Please don’t think that I am trying to scare you or make you feel guilty and I definitely don’t want this writing to become an online version of an after-school special. All I am trying to do is to get you thinking so that you can avoid such tactless and reckless behavior in the future which only leads to serious consequences. Try to be sensible and sensitive with age and delve deeper into matters. Drinking and driving are not at all what you call “cool”. It is a life-threatening misdemeanor. Prevent yourself from committing such offenses and take necessary precautions instead of landing up in situations where you will need to resort to a criminal defense attorney.

An offense as serious as drunken driving has serious implications for both the driver and the victim. While the victim may be severely injured or lose his life, the driver may be imposed huge fines or even face imprisonment depending upon his age and the severity of his action.

Source: Observer Reporter – Woman admits giving teens alcohol