Spring has sprung with longer days and flowers in bloom, as well as the fast approaching end of the school year. It’s time to start talking about making smart decisions when planning and hosting prom and graduation parties.
“As you begin to plan for these events, there are a lot of details you need to think about, but perhaps the most important is the decision to serve or not to serve alcohol” said Sheriff Jamie Patton.
Being able to control who is drinking at a large party, whether it’s an after prom or graduation party may be almost impossible. Adults and minors will come and go throughout the event. With all this activity, it can be a perfect time for a minor (anyone under the age of 18) to grab an alcoholic beverage from a cooler or table.
According to recent youth surveys provided by the Ohio Real Estate Law blog, 29 percent of teens know of parents who host parties where alcohol is served and 25 percent of those teens indicated that in the past two months, they had attended a house party where alcohol was present. Alcohol is still the drug of choice for youth and a major factor in the four leading causes of death among persons ages 10 to 24; motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries, homicide and suicide. Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes and 60 percent of all youth suicides. Teen alcohol abuse is also linked to as many as 2/3 of all sexual assaults and date rapes (of teens and college students) and is a major factor in unprotected sex among youth.
Most states have enacted laws that hold party hosts liable for any alcohol-related injuries that occur, if they provided alcohol to minors. This includes injuries to the minor, as well as any other individuals whose injuries or death resulted from the minor being provided alcohol. Most social host liability laws are targeted toward reducing alcohol related injuries and deaths of minors.
Specifically, these laws impose a duty of care on party hosts (typically a parent but any adult who is in charge) not to furnish or serve alcohol to minors. To “furnish” alcohol is to merely make it available, while to “serve” alcohol is to “knowingly and affirmatively deliver” alcohol.
Is it really a big deal if you serve alcohol to a minor? Yes, it is! If you break the law in Ohio you could face a jail sentence of six months and/or a $1,000.00 fine.
In addition, civil actions can be filed against you if you give alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 and they in turn hurt someone, hurt themselves, or damage property. “Think about the law and what you could lose before having alcohol at your next party,” concluded Sheriff Patton.