Connecticut residents like you may be ready to party your hearts out this summer, enjoying the last days before everyone has to go back to school or work. Unfortunately, having a good reason to celebrate doesn’t negate the fact that it’s still illegal for anyone under 21 to drink. So what if a minor is drinking at your party?
You can, in fact, face penalties if a minor is caught drinking on your property during a house party. The County News Center highlights five penalties you could face for hosting a party that gives alcohol access to minors. If you are the social host, you are liable. In this scenario, a social host is defined as anyone who either should have known, or did know, that minors were consuming alcohol on their property.
You could actually face jail time and fines over this. The fines are up to $1000 or even more. You may spend time in jail for a maximum of 6 months. You could be arrested, or cited. Additionally, there’s a requirement of community service, and you may be sent the bill for the law enforcement coming out to your home. Of course, this doesn’t include the penalties that might occur if a drunk minor gets into trouble outside of the party. You could still be held liable if, for example, a minor gets into a car accident after driving home from your party.
Being viewed as the “cool parent” isn’t worth the potential risk, and if you think it’s no big deal for minors to drink on your private property, you may want to reconsider and protect yourself from facing these possible charges.
