Alcohol Concerns
This section outlines various laws governing the sale, distribution,
and consumption of alcoholic beverages and the criminal and civil liability
that concerns student organizations.
Civil Liability
Selling Alcohol
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that a commercial host, one who sells
liquor, has a duty to not serve intoxicated persons. Serving an intoxicated
person can result in the commercial host paying money or damages to
someone harmed by the intoxicated person. Anyone selling liquor takes
on this liability. Even if a student organization purchases a Daily
Temporary Mixed Beverage Permit, the organization, its national office,
members, officers, advisors and possibly Texas Tech can be held liable
to an injured party for money damages in a court of law. The injured
party must prove in court that the organization served the intoxicated
person, and that the intoxication is a direct cause of the accident.
Providing Alcohol
In Texas, non-commercial hosts, those who do not sell alcohol but provide
it, are liable under law if they serve alcohol to minors. A minor, under
these circumstances, is someone who is 18-years old or younger. At this
time, social hosts are not liable for adults (*including 19 and 20-year
olds; 19 and 20 - year olds are under the legal drinking age, but are
held liable for themselves in a court of law, and are charged as adults);
however, the law is controversial (other states hold the host liable)
and may change at any time.
To Avoid Civil Liability
To protect the members and the organization, alcoholic beverage consumption
must be controlled at all events, public or private. Do not continue
to serve an intoxicated person. Civil liability is not avoided by allowing
everyone to help him/herself. Providing the alcoholic beverage is serving
under law. If, despite the best efforts, someone does become intoxicated
and decides to leave the event, prevent the person from driving. Even
if the host has refused to serve that person, even if he or she came
to the event already drunk, the person should not drive. If a person
drives, a lawsuit is possible.
Criminal Liability
Unlike civil liability, where the penalty is money damages, the penalty
for violating criminal laws is a fine and/or jail time and a criminal
record for the individual charged. Student organizations should be concerned
about the following areas:
Age
-
It is a crime for a person under the age of 21
years to purchase, consume or possess an alcoholic beverage in public
or private unless in the presence of a parent or spouse over the
age of 21.
Punishment: 1st offense: Fines, Alcohol
Awareness Course, 8-12 hours community service, 30 days Texas driver’s
license suspension or denied issuance of license. 2nd offense:
Fines, Alcohol Awareness Course, 20-40 hours community service,
60 days Texas driver’s license suspension or denied issuance of
license. 3rd offense: 180 days Texas driver’s license suspension
or denial of administrative license revocation, juvenile court with
supervision or tried as an adult in Criminal Court.
-
It is a crime to provide an alcoholic beverage
to someone under the age of 21 unless it is the parent or adult
spouse of that person. The operative word is provide. Selling or
serving is not required.
Punishment: Fines, up to 180 days of jail
time, or both. This gives you a permanent criminal record; unlike
the minor, the adult cannot have the conviction erased.
- At a private party, the host is responsible for ascertaining the
age of the guests drinking. At a student organization sponsored party,
the hosts are the officers of the sponsoring organization. If the
party is raided, those officers, advisors and bartenders can be arrested
and charged with making alcoholic beverages available to minors.
-
Tactics that do not avoid liability
-
Posting signs that only individuals 21 and
over may drink, and then not checking identification to enforce
the signs.
-
Having no bartenders so that no one serves,
but each person gets his/her own drink.
-
Providing nonalcoholic beverages and food in
addition to alcoholic beverages.
B.Y.O.B. -- Bring Your Own Bottle
As the law now stands, a host would appear to have no legal responsibility
to prevent drinking by people under age 21, at a private party, where
the host provides no alcoholic beverages, but each guest brings his
or her own drinks. Each person bringing an alcoholic beverage, and pooling
it on one big table for everyone to help him or herself, is not considered
B.Y.O.B. The student organization that uses B.Y.O.B. should clearly
adopt a policy of the organization and rigidly enforce it. Providing
food should be acceptable and not invalidate the B.Y.O.B. aspxect. A
designated driver policy would also help avoid liability.
Charging For Alcohol
It is illegal to sell liquor or beer without a license or permit. The
following ways of collecting money are not legal:
- Selling drinks directly
- Taking up a collection at the party to defray the cost of beer
Tactics that do not Avoid Liability
- Selling tickets to be exchanged for drinks
- Charging a flat fee for all you can drink.
- Charging an administration fee, when the principle expense of the
party is alcoholic beverages. It does not matter that food is also
being served
It is legal to
- Regularly assess organization members a party fee or set aside part
of the regular dues for parties
- Have a fund-raising event and direct that the proceeds go into a
party fund
Daily Temporary Mixed Beverage Permits
Texas law now allows a fraternal organization in existence for more
than five years with a regular membership to apply for a permit that
allows that organization to sell alcoholic beverages for one day. The
fee is $50 and only two can be issued per year to the same organization.
Permits are purchased from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
If the group is granted the permit, the organization still runs the
risk of civil liability.
Catered Alcohol
Although the organization loses the profits from alcohol sales, the
group also loses most criminal and civil liability. The duty to check
identification shifts to the licensed caterer.
Bootlegging
In Texas, this means transporting alcoholic beverages into a “dry”
area with intent to sell them. If you are transporting more than one
quart of liquor, 24 12-ounce bottles of beer or the equivalent of 228
ounces into a dry area, the legal presumption is that you intend to
sell it. An eight gallon keg contains 1024 ounces, and parts of Lubbock
County are dry.
Punishment: minimum $100 fine or confinement in county jail for up
to 12 months or both.