COLUMN: What’s that drink going to cost you?
What’s that drink going to cost you?
First, lest me introduce myself. My name is Bruce Ward. I’m a prosecuting attorney with the Cache County Attorney’s Office. I’ve been a prosecutor now for 13 years: four in Alaska and nine here in Logan. I also work with ASUSU providing legal guidance to students here on campus. If you have a legal problem or question, set up an appointment and let’s talk. What you are about to read are the consequences of being caught MIP (that’s minor in possession) of alcohol. No moralizing, no sermonizing, just the legal consequences.
You’re at a party where alcohol is being served. You are not yet 21, and taking a drink is against the law. You figure, “What’s the harm?” Besides, you want to have a good time along with everyone else. A beer or two won’t hurt.
The party is on and you’ve enjoyed a couple of cold ones. The police drive by, or someone calls in a noise complaint or you’re walking home late and an office decides to stop and ask you what’s going on. You don’t look 21, Logan City and USU police officers know that three-fourths of all USU students are not yet 21, and, yes, they can tell the difference between those old enough to legally drink and those who are not. The officer makes contact and you have the odor of alcohol on your breath. The officer asks you if you have been drinking, administers some basic field sobriety tests and you are cited for Minor in Possession of Alcohol, a violation of Utah Code 32A-12-209, a Class B misdemeanor. Now what? You will have to appear in the Logan Municipal Court, unless you’re cited out in the county. They you will appear in the First District Court.
What’s that drink going to cost you? The maximum penalties on a Class B misdemeanor are as follows: 1) up to six months in the county jail, 2) a $1,000 fine, 3) an 85 percent surcharge added to the fine and 4) probation,
However, the real question is what will you have to pay? If this is your first offense and you are cited into the Logan Municipal Court, you will probably avoid serving any jail time. If you are cited into the First District Court and draw Judge Willmore, you will serve two days in jail (yes, even if it is your very first offense). The fine imposed will be between $400 and $450 – it depends on the judge and surcharge added. You will have to sign up with Private Probation Services, which will cost you $30 per month for the privilege of having them supervise you.
As a condition of probation, you will have to do alcohol counseling through Bear River Drug and Alcohol. You will spend $30 each on two appointments to do an intake and substance abuse screening. You will meet with a counselor at least one time at a cost of $70. Finally, you will most likely be referred into an alcohol awareness class that takes four weeks to complete (10 total hours of class time) and costs $80. If it is determined you have a more serious alcohol problem, you may be referred to individual counseling, which costs $70 per session.
So, a $400 fine, plus $30 in supervision fees for, say, six months ($180), plus the cost of alcohol counseling ($210), and your beer actually cost you $790 – it would be $884 if you get jail time (you’ll be charged $47 per day for your stay).
You also now have a criminal record which, when you graduate and begin job hunting, may have to be disclosed, and which will cause some employers to shy away from hiring you.
If, after the party, you are caught driving home, but your blood alcohol level is insufficient to make you DUI, you will face all of the above penalties. However, the fine will be higher ($500 rather than $400), and, under the “Not a Drop Statute,” (Utah Code 53-3-231) you will lose your driving privileges for 90 days; a second offense, and you will lose your driving privileges for one year. Get caught driving on an alcohol-denied driver’s license and things go downhill quickly. I’ll address the legal consequences of a DUI conviction in another column.
Remember, “He who picks up one end of the stick, picks up the other.” Now you know what that drink is going to cost you: enough for a laptop or a great spring break trip. You’ll make the decision, but now you will make it knowing the facts.