How To Send Your Mom To Jail
Drink beer in the basement at 16.
Via Overlawyered, Debra Cassens Weiss posts at ABA Journal that more states are enacting "social host laws," and parents are facing jail time for their kids' drinking parties -- even if nobody gets hurt:
A Massachusetts mother was sent to jail in May because of teen drinking at her home. In Warwick, R.I., former school board member and cheerleading coach Terri Serra is on trial as the result of her daughter's homecoming party. Four boys were injured in a car accident afterwards. Serra has testified she fell asleep watching a movie and was unaware of the drinking in her backyard. She could be sentenced to up to six months in jail if she is found guilty.Serra's lawyer, Robert Mann of Providence, plans to challenge the constitutionality of the social host law, the Westerly Sun reports. The law, which penalizes adults who permit underage drinking, is vague in its definition of "permit," he argues.
Makes me wonder if this woman was the "cool mom" who let kids drink at her house "so she knew what they were up to". Which is not a terrible idea really – there's certainly an argument that kids will get up to worse if they're not watched – but it does come with an enormous amount of responsibility, enough that few informed folks would want it.
doggone at October 3, 2012 11:29 PM
I have no problem with parents that provide a small amount of alcohol to their kids.
But I do have a problem with parents that provide alcohol to their kid's friends.
Something seems off that she didn't supervise, wasn't aware of what was going on, and allowed the kids to drive home drunk.
Regardless, I hope she has a good lawyer.
jerry at October 4, 2012 1:13 AM
What she aught to do is file a criminal charge against the kids who drank on her property.
It should help her at her trial
lujlp at October 4, 2012 4:28 AM
Any adult who gives my kid alcohol is going to find themselves talking to the police. You host people in your home, you ARE expected to know what they are up to. Whether it's adults or kids.
And I am an adult who lets my kids have sips if they want. That's MY perogative as their parent, not yours or anyone else's.
Legally, there is also an expectation that you will be aware of what is going on on your property. And there should be.
Heck, even bartenders who allow a paying adult patron to drive off drunk can be held responsible so expecting a parent hosting her kids friends to not let them drive drunk seems pretty fair.
momof4 at October 4, 2012 5:24 AM
Momof4,
I don't know about the legally part - which probably varies by state/locality. However, I find it a bit silly to be expected to know what's going on in/on your property 24/7. If I go on vacation, am I responsible for what happens on my property? Am I expected to know about it? What about during the night when I can (reasonably) be expected to be asleep?
Obviously, there's a difference between providing alcohol and being aware of what's going on. But, just for argument's sake, what if somebody's kid sneaks out in the middle of the night and buys beer (or illegal drugs) and comes home & drinks/uses. Is the parent being negligent? What if it's an adult kid? a friend renting a room? Should the owner necessarily be aware of what is going on? Should they be liable for it?
Shannon M. Howell at October 4, 2012 5:37 AM
It's a good idea to let kids drink in a home that's supervised, rather than in the parking lot of the Gas'n'sip.
However, the whole point of that is so that so the kids don't get injured driving home afterwards. In the case cited, if she allowed underage drinking, then let them drive home afterward, that's a problem.
clinky at October 4, 2012 5:38 AM
I wonder if this applies if the parents are away on vacation? My sister had this awesome graduation party in the back yard, and it was under control. Until 2, when the cops shut it down, for noise. They bought their own booze. No fights, no fatalities, just a good time.
Retroactive? Mom and Dad, criminals. Who'd have thought. Well, the statute of limitations has long since expired. And they are beyond the reach of the law anyway.
Wait, the drinking age in NY before the nanny state took over was 18. Too bad my sister wasn't.
I, on the other had, was able to legally drink after my High School graduation. It wasn't a big deal, so I didn't overindulge.
It was a different, and I dare say better country then. Except for the Vietnam thing. If you were white, anyway.
The Puritans are back. You will not be left alone.
MarkD at October 4, 2012 5:38 AM
If your house is being used to, say, sell drugs? Yes, whether you "know" or not, you will probably be held liable.
If someone falls down an old well you didn't "know" about? Yep, you're liable again. Some kid gets drunk on your property? Yes, you're liable if you are home.
Who can sleep through that sort of thing, anyway? Unless it's a mansion or you have overindulged in something yourself(while supposedly supervising kids in your home), I would think the sound of kids loading up and driving off might wake you. I know I wake at a cough from my kids.
Her being a board member and coach doesn't matter a damn to the facts of the case. The PTA President of our really good local school just got back from rehab. Maybe this mom needs to go, too.
momof4 at October 4, 2012 6:11 AM
We have the social host laws here too. If I go out one night and my kids throw a party without my knowledge, I'm liable. A parent doesn't have to be aware to be liable. I was a pretty good teen but threw my share of parties when my parents went out. Teens by nature stretch boundaries. This law was designed to stop teenage drinking which is ridiculous. I'll say it again. Teens, by nature, stretch boundaries.
One other thing, I grew up knowing a family that hosted because they were from the school that they'd rather the kids be safe. All of the kids in that family grew up to be responsible drinkers. In my family, my brothers, sister and I threw the parties behind our parents back. We also drank in the woods and produced 3 alcoholics.
Kristen at October 4, 2012 6:37 AM
I'm with M4 and Kristen on this issue. My parents gave us sips from time to time, a couple of my brothers overindulged on occasion, learned their lesson, and I believe we're all pretty much responsible drinkers now. Not when we were teenagers, but as we got older, we knew when and where to draw the line and put down the glass.
I've given my kids sips when they've asked. Number 2 pulled an overnighter on me a couple of weeks ago and got grounded for her trouble. She wasn't hungover the next morning, but she got shit for not coming home the night before, and not answering her cell when I called. I wasn't frantic, because I had an idea what was going on, and I kept my cool (until I found out who she had been with, a kid who is NOT someone I want her hanging with). I also now know where the parents of the party house live, so if she tries that stunt again, I know where to go. I'll leave the police out of it, unless/until someone gets hurt.
Flynne at October 4, 2012 7:30 AM
If your house is being used to, say, sell drugs? Yes, whether you "know" or not, you will probably be held liable.
Remember when Barney Franks' boyfriend ran a prositution ring out of the Representative Franks' DC home? he wasn't held to be liable. In fact, he claimed to have no idea that such a thing was happening.
Oh, yeah, it's good to be in government...
I R A Darth Aggie1 at October 4, 2012 9:45 AM
What if kids break into an empty house and have a party? Is the owner a criminal? What if the kids know mom will shut them down and do their drinking quietly in the neighbors back yard while they're gone on vacation? Are the neighbors liable?
nonegiven at October 4, 2012 11:11 AM
Nonegiven,
That's more like the scenarios I was considering. Or, how about when my neighbors growing up had a graduation party and it spilled over into our lawn (leaving a decent number of plastic cups and other debris in our bushes). Or, do people have to make property boundaries clear to their guests?
Shannon M. Howell at October 4, 2012 12:58 PM
They've dropped the shop from dram shop.
smurfy at October 4, 2012 1:12 PM
On a Saturday night completely alone ... with no women anywhere?
Conan the Grammarian at October 4, 2012 1:32 PM
I guess my concern is not for the parent host of the sixteen year old kid, but for the parent host of the nineteen year old adult who still can not legally drink. Are we going to punish those parents too?
He/She should be legally an adult, needing no adult supervision.
I mean, at nineteen, I worked a full time job. I owned my own home. Yet, I couldn't go into an establishment and buy my own alcohol. I mean, at nineteen, I barely spoke to my parents once a month, much less had them supervising me.
Cat at October 4, 2012 3:32 PM
Cat,
That's a good point. I'd take it a step further. Say you had a younger sibling (a "hobby child" they're sometimes called). Who moved in with you because you live near his/her college.
The sibling is an adult. The sibling is not and never was your responsibility. You are just graciously offering a place to stay.
Does that make this young adult's behavior your responsibility? For that matter, does a landlord have responsibility for what happens on his/her rented property?
Shannon M. Howell at October 5, 2012 4:42 AM
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