With it being the holiday season, there are a lot of parties happening. You might even be hosting one. The social host law has been put into place to try to minimize underage drinking. It puts the responsibility of deterring minors from drinking in the party host’s hands. If you want to learn more about this law and how it applies to you, please keep reading.
If you need help from a lawyer to defend you after you have gotten in trouble under the social host law, call our office right away. We can get you set up with a consultation right away.
Tips for Throwing a Party
As to not violate the social host law, you need to make some things abundantly clear to your guests. You have to set rules for them and forbid them from drinking and driving or driving under the influence of drugs.
You are not to allow underaged people into the party to drink. If there are underaged party guests, it is your responsibility to prevent them from drinking and hurting someone. You might want to close off rooms where minors could steal away to get drunk and keep the party somewhere that you can keep an eye on everyone.
Sometimes you need to crack down on allowing people to bring guests who were not explicitly invited. If someone leaves your home, they should not be allowed to come back into the house later on.
Having non-alcoholic options can help reduce the risk of minors drinking. Having food available for the adults drinking can help them not get sick or overly intoxicated.
If people are too drunk to drive, getting them an Uber or a ride home is your duty. You might also need to hide keys from someone who is insisting they drive themselves.
Scenarios Where the Social Host Law is Broken
Let’s say you are hosting a New Year’s Eve party. You put on the online invite that everyone on the list is allowed to bring a plus one. The party is in full swing when you realize there are several people who you have yet to meet. You assume they’re close in age to you, but really, they are not of legal drinking age. They get very drunk and cause a car accident, injuring a family in the crash. You are now in trouble for not preventing minors from getting drunk.
Let’s say you are hosting a party with your adult friends who have kids in high school. You decide to give the kids some freedom and let them hang out in the basement while all of the adults are upstairs. You hope that they will not be drinking down there, but you do not lay down any rules. During the party, they sneak alcohol into the basement because no one is checking on them. One of them gets into a car accident on the way home, injuring themselves. You can certainly get in trouble for allowing them to drink in your home.
Call Our Long Island Criminal Lawyer Today
If you have been accused of breaking the social host law, we can help you defend your rights. The first two offenses are fines, but any subsequent offenses can result in much harsher penalties. Give us a call right away if you are up against criminal charges.
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