Little changed in the Emporia area July 1 when an amended alcohol-hosting law took effect across Kansas.
Legislators tweaked the law for the second time since it was enacted in 2004. The original statute provided penalties for hosts of parties where alcohol or cereal malt beverages were served to people under 18 years of age.
This year, the Legislature raised the age from 18 to 21.
County Attorney Marc Goodman said the statute involves intentionally allowing the host’s “residence, land, building, structure, room owned, occupied or procured ... to be used by an invitee of such person or their guests, the results ... are consumption of alcohol or cereal malt beverage.”
Breaking that law can result in a Class A person misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $1,000, according to a copy of the statute obtained from the office of the Kansas Revisor of Statutes.
“If convicted, you can be ordered to serve community or public service as a condition of probation and the court can consider having you do that at an alcohol treatment facility,” Goodman said.
He said legislators’ intentions were good in seeking to prosecute people who provide places for minors to drink. Enforcing the law and prosecuting offenders, however, may not be as easy as it seems.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 36-10 gives privileges of sorts to parents.
“There’s an exemption in that statute that if a parent gives cereal malt beverages to their child, there can’t be a prosecution if it’s done with a parent present,” Goodman said. “Go figure how we ever came up with that.”
It also may be difficult to determine exactly who is an “invitee,” a guest or an underage participant who came uninvited to an event.
“We’ve long argued that the definition of ‘invitee’ may end up being a problem that the Legislature didn’t address,” Goodman said. “And the other part of that is ... there’s a certain element of it still subject to probable cause — all the ways that police become advised of these things. It’s not like police can go out and drive around and burst into your house. ...
“That’s sort of an open-ended argument about how they’re going to enforce it.”
City Attorney Blaise Plummer holds a similar opinion.
“There’s the idea that every problem can be solved if we just pass a law against it and, really, (this is) a complex problem. You can’t address it just by penalizing it, in my opinion,” Plummer said.
Clerk of the District Court Jeanne Turner said it seems there have been no cases involving underage hosting in Lyon County District Court.
“If we did, I don’t remember it,” Turner said. “Those probably go through the city.”
Emporia Municipal Court has prosecuted three hosting cases — all in April 2007 — since January 2006, according to Phil Martin, director of court services. Three of the offenders were in their early 20s and one was 51 years old.
Martin said city court usually follows a fine schedule on such cases. The fine upon conviction is $200 and court costs of $60. Other amounts and sanctions can be applied by the judge, depending upon the circumstances.
Without prior cases to refer to, Turner said, she has no record of fines. Like all misdemeanors, however, there are ranges of penalties and fines that can be applied at the judge’s discretion.
For minors in possession of alcohol, the judge usually assesses a $250 fine and $128 in court costs, she said.
“He suspends their driver’s licenses for 30 days for the first offense. He suspends it 90 days for the second offense and one year for the third offense,” Turner said.
The judge also usually sentences the MIP offenders to 30 days in jail, which is suspended if court costs and fines are paid within a certain period of time.
“If you don’t pay it within that certain period of time, you’re looking at 30 days in jail,” Turner said. “They’re kind of costly.”
Goodman said that a frustrating aspect of underage drinking are parents who believe that allowing their children to drink at home is better than having them drink illegally elsewhere.
“I always want to say, ‘It’s illegal. What the heck are you doing?’ That’s the bottom line,” Goodman said. “How are you going to determine which laws to selectively tell your children to obey? ... We have enough issues without rationalizing (and) picking and choosing what laws you want to uphold.”
Offenses related to underage drinking
• Hosting — intentionally allowing your property to be used where underage drinking takes place. The law now defines “underage drinking” to include anyone younger than 21. There is no age limit on the person charged with hosting. A 19-year-old who allows drinking at a party at his or her apartment could be cited.
• Minor in possession — any person younger than 21 in possession of alcohol or cereal malt beverage. No proof that the minor was actually drinking is necessary.
• Minor in consumption — any person younger than 21 who has or is consuming any amount of alcohol.