OCTOBER 12, 2009 – The State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is quickly learning that solving one problem leads to a new problem. After years of cracking down on liquor stores and other businesses for selling alcohol to minors, ABC is now tasked with another problem: teens who get their alcohol from adults, often at house parties. Many parents allow underage drinking in their homes, under the premise that it is safer if they drink at home than somewhere else. Despite all the best intentions, allowing groups of minors to drink in a home is illegal.

Crashes Involving Underage Drinking: Target Responsibility For Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE)

The Target Responsibility For Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE) Unit is a specialized team of ABC Investigators who conduct investigations throughout California for incidents, involving minors, alcohol, and serious injuries or fatalities. The TRACE Unit has investigated 23 cases in San Diego County since 2006. Here are some of them:

• TRACE investigated the case of Daniel R. Martinez, 23, of Escondido, who furnished alcohol to two teenagers who later died in an alcohol-related crash. Martinez was sentenced in San Diego County North County Regional Court to 3 years probation, 24 hours of community service, and fined $3,745.

• The District attorney’s office is currently reviewing a case involving a 45-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man who provided alcohol to a 19-year-old Fallbrook firefighter before he died in a crash on Highway 76 in December, 2008.

• TRACE is currently investigating the source of alchol that contributed to the death of Alex Michael Capozza on October 4 in Rancho Santa Fe. Capozza had been the only fatality out of five occupants in a solo-vehicle crash driven by a 17-year-old boy who had been drinking.

A History of San Diego County Social Host Ordinance

With the help of the North Inland Community Prevention Project, Poway City Council member Jay Goldby introduced the county’s first social host ordinance in the fall of 2002. On April 21, 2003, the San Diego City Council passed the social host ordinance to penalize adults for providing alcohol to minors. Poway was the second city in the county to pass a social host ordinance. Under the ordinance, adults and minors who allow groups of three or more people younger than age 21 to drink alcohol in their homes face up to six months and jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Hosts may also face civil liability for providing alcohol, if the use of alcohol results in injury or death (such as an alcohol-related crash).

North County Cities With Social Host Ordinances

Underage drinking should be a serious concern for parents of teenagers. A new billboard installed last week along westbound Highway 78 near El Camino Real is a sober warning to parents about social host ordinances in San Diego County. Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido and Carlsbad all have adopted Social Host ordinances, as well as Poway, Encinitas, La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, the City of San Diego and the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

Social Host Ordinance Means Criminal Prosecution and Civil Liability

San Diego County’s social responsibility ordinance requires parents who have reasonable knowledge of underage drinking on their property to stop it. Penalties include up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. Additionally, hosts may face civil responsibility if the injured person claims the negligence of the host caused a minor’s injuries or death. In San Diego County, violation of this law may be sufficient to establish negligence. The social host ordinance not only applies to drunk-driving deaths and injuries to minors, but also to many other alcohol-related problems, such as binge drinking, alcohol-related violence, sexual assault, and rape. For more information about civil liability for accidents, injuries and fatalities caused by underage drinking as a result of social host violations, contact Estey & Bomberger at (619)543-1391.