Shoulder tap is an act in which a minor solicits an adult to buy alcohol for him or her. It is the most common method used by minors to acquire alcohol. Although the national minimum drinking age states the legal age for alcohol purchase, which is twenty-one, the rate of minors consuming alcohol has been on an upward trend. This is because most of the underage drinking activities are done in private, for instance, where someone older hosts people who are still minors or through shoulder tap. Understanding the host liability laws would be effective in mitigating underage drinking.
Should the Same Strict Liability Apply to a Host of a Party that is attended by both Adults and Minors, where Alcohol at the Private Party is furnished to both?
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In the above case, like in the shoulder tap crime law, the same strict liability should apply to a host of a party attended by both old and young where alcohol at the private party is furnished to both (Kriegler, 2016) . It is the role of the host to check each guest’s ID to verify those attending are of legal drinking age (Wachtler, 2011). This is because of the many cases of minors indulging in alcohol-related incidents in the United States.
For many years, a host could not be held liable for injuries or accidents caused by alcohol. However, that has changed in recent years since the emergence of social host liability laws. These laws aim to impose liability upon hosts who provide alcohol to minors, which can result in accidents as a direct impact of intoxication (Dills, 2010) .
The shoulder tap law will save several lives. Most families in the United States have teenagers who indulge in underage drinking without the knowledge of the parents. This is because most minors lie about their age in bars or liquor stores or have older friends that supply them with alcohol. If this were criminalized, some of these issues of underage drinking would reduce (Kriegler, 2016) . Whoever delivers or sales alcohol to minor s should be punished to serve them a lesson.
There are various reasons why the host of a party should be punished for providing alcohol to minors. It is the role of the host to ensure those accessing the house are of drinking age. This is because of the harm alcohol causes, especially to young people. There could be a possibility of crashing if the minors were driving home after drinking. The main mistake caused by the host is exposing the minors to alcohol with less concern for the consequences (Dills, 2010) . Therefore, this is enough reason the host should be punished under the liability laws.
Should A Host be Able to Offer Evidence That He Reasonably Believed the Minor Was Old Enough to Drink?
In cases of exposing minors to alcohol, the host has no excuse to justify his action since the liability laws are stipulated. Individual state laws also determine whether the host would be allowed to give evidence or not through the state underage drinking laws (Fell, Thomas, Scherer, Fisher & Romano, 2015). Certain state laws such as in California are strict and have set the minimum drinking age (Kriegler, 2016) . If violated, it does not matter if the victims were underage or the young people provided false identification showing then to be of drinking age. Underage drinking laws constitute the strict liability laws which do not require the charged person with law violation to undergo any form of mental state.
Checking IDs is the first step for preventing exposure of alcohol to minors. Most states recommend checking IDs of people who appear to be under 35 since appearances provide clues about age (Carpenter & Dobkin, 2015). The laws further advise for a host to be handed the ID rather than scrutinizing it inside a wallet. The date of birth, expiry date, and the photo should be carefully checked. A host can also check the behavior of the guests before allowing them in since there are unique traits associated with minors. With these explanations, it is impossible for the host to convince the court that he believed the minors were of reasonable drinking age.
Would it help Your Case if the Jurisdiction Made Such a Defense Available to Bars and Liquor Stores That Required Buyers to Provide Proof of Age?
Such a defense should be made available to bars and liquor stores as research has depicted a rise in the sale of alcohol to minors. This will be effective as research has shown compliance checks to be effective in preventing the sale of alcohol to minors (Fell, Thomas, Scherer, Fisher & Romano, 2015). Also, proofing of age is an easy process to do, which will help deter minors from alcohol consumption. By making such a defense available in a jurisdiction, a strong message would be sent for other operators to comply and portray underage drinking as to be unacceptable. Shoulder tap crimes will also be mitigated in the process through enforcing such a defense to bars and liquor stores.
References
Carpenter, C., & Dobkin, C. (2015). The minimum legal drinking age and crime. Review of economics and statistics , 97 (2), 521-524.
Dills, A. K. (2010). Social host liability for minors and underage drunk-driving accidents. Journal of Health Economics , 29 (2), 241-249.
Fell, J. C., Thomas, S., Scherer, M., Fisher, D. A., & Romano, E. (2015). Scoring the strengths and weaknesses of underage drinking laws in the United States. World medical & health policy , 7 (1), 28-58.
Kriegler, H. S. R., & Bender, L. M. (2016). Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions.
Wachtler, J. (2011). Are New York's Social Host Liability Laws Too Strict, Too Lenient, or Just Right. Touro L. Rev. , 27 , 309.
