Recently, the Iowa City City Council has chosen to revisit the issue as to whether those under 21 should be allowed inside Iowa City bars during the nighttime hours.
Currently, the age restriction is 19 years. Those under 19 who are in an Iowa City bar past 10:00 p.m. can be cited with a ticket that carries a $500.00 fine, 35% surcharge and $60 in court costs.
On the criminal defense side, there is simply no way to fight these tickets. As long as the defendant is 1) inside the bar, 2) the time is past 10:00 p.m., and 3) they are not yet 19 years old, then the City has a slam-dunk case.
Furthermore, there is no legal mechanism to grant a deferred judgment, to take the case under ‘court supervision’ (an Illinois criminal law term) or otherwise enter the defendant into some sort of diversion program. And to top it off, the City has essentially a no-negotiations policy in regard to these offenses. Their hands are tied as to the penalty (they don’t have the legal authority to change the fine amount), so it becomes an all-or-nothing case where the City will usually find themselves on the winning side.
In regard to the under 19 ordinance, you’ve been warned.
The new proposal would likely carry the same elements as the old offense, only changing the age from 19 to 21. The fine, however, is anybody’s guess.
For certain the new charge would be equally difficult to defend. The only guaranteed way to avoid this ticket would be to not break the (potential) new ordinance.
Negative externalities are the major concern the Council should research. What would be the impact on underage drinking away from the downtown bars? Is private-residence alcohol consumption by those under 21 more or less dangerous? Will the amount of underage drinking diminish, or remain the same? Is drinking safer in a semi-regulated environment such as a bar?
Also, what does the Iowa City Police Department think about this ordinance? They could be relieved because they won’t have to write as many PAULA citations, but perhaps that’s better than busting private underage keggers?
I would like to see the impact this ordinance would have on keg beer distributors such as Hy-vee and John’s Grocery. Which side of the ordinance will you find them on?
If the ordinance passes, I certainly expect to see an increase in fake ID’s possessed by students.
Another big question is what impact this would have on OWI / DUI’s? Cab service is more prevalent near bars, but it is possible to “sleep it off” on a friend’s couch after a party. I’m pretty sure bar owners frown on overnight guests.
Finally, my biggest fear would be the potential impact on sexual assault. When a person drinks to the point of extreme intoxication in a public place, there would likely be more people around and hopefully a responsible bar owner. This audience can reduce the chance of a sexual assault occurring. There would seem to be more risk at a private residence.
On the positive side, the potential ordinance may break the culture of drinking that is so prevalent at the University of Iowa.
Like the University of Iowa in 2007, I am not going to put an opinion out as to whether this ordinance would be beneficial to the community.
I simply don’t have a dog in the hunt.
Looking at it from a criminal defense attorney’s viewpoint: PAULA’s can rarely be defended, the Under 19 charge is very rarely capable of being defended, and the potential Under 21 charge would be the same. Impacts on other crimes would be speculation at best.
For more information, please see the Daily Iowan’s article.