Seizure of Alcoholic Beverages at a Concert Venue

Wow! You either have an unlimited amount of money and time available, or, you are one of those people who get their sense of self worth by stirring the poop. For me, my time is worth more than pushing the envelope and then fighting the system in the hope that I might prevail after spending many thousands of dollars and many hours of my time. But, I suppose we all have to have our hobbies.

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Quoting cdwjava

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Wow! You either have an unlimited amount of money and time available, or, you are one of those people who get their sense of self worth by stirring the poop. For me, my time is worth more than pushing the envelope and then fighting the system in the hope that I might prevail after spending many thousands of dollars and many hours of my time. But, I suppose we all have to have our hobbies.

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Well, so far, fighting that $23 charge has cost me nothing. I've made a bunch of toll-free phone calls to various customer-service departments.

As for concert venues, perhaps they should spend less time looking for new ways to make people's lives miserable.

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Quoting TechWorker

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perhaps they should spend less time looking for new ways to make people's lives miserable.

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Perhaps you should take your own advice.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Perhaps you should take your own advice.

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My desire to drink water makes people miserable?

Have you actually had a venue stop you when walking out with a water bottle? If not, why is this even an issue for you?

I suspect it really doesn't happen unless it's real obvious that someone has transferred booze into the bottle, or they are contacted because they are already inebriated.

So, move along ... nothing to see here.

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Quoting cdwjava

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I suspect it really doesn't happen unless it's real obvious that someone has transferred booze into the bottle, or they are contacted because they are already inebriated.

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Have you read the first post in the following thread?

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198635

The liquid was clear and was obviously water. But the officer still instigated a confrontation.

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Quoting TechWorker

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So, what are my rights? Can I force the security guard to prove that the bottle contains alcohol? If I open the bottle and there is no smell of alcohol, will that be enough (from a legal standpoint) to force the security guard to allow me to leave? If I open the bottle and there is no smell of alcohol and I leave the venue and I am arrested for having alcohol outside the venue, can I sue for false arrest?

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If the security guard is a law enforcement officer and if the law in the locality where this encounter is taking place makes it illegal to carry alcohol in an open container in public, then the law on this is no different than if the item were any other illegal item. The officer would need to have reasonable suspicion to stop you and investigate. The officer would need probable cause to believe that the substance you had was illegal (i.e. alcohol in an open container) in order to seize it and to cite/arrest you for violating the statute or ordinance. You cannot “force” the officer to do anything regarding what investigation you think ought to be done. If you obstruct or interfere with the officer you may end up subject to arrest and prosecution for that, even if you don’t have alcohol in that container. If the officer gets it wrong and lacked the legal basis for taking the suspected alcohol, your remedy is to sue the city/county later for your damages, just as with any other situation involving wrongful seizure or arrest. What you don’t do is fight about it with the officer and resist what he or she is doing at the time of the encounter. If what you had was water and that is what was seized, it’s pointless to sue for it since water at the tap is free and thus you suffered no damages from it. So, at best there what you get is $1 in token damages.

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Quoting TechWorker

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Have you read the first post in the following thread?

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198635

The liquid was clear and was obviously water. But the officer still instigated a confrontation.

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That was HIS post, and we have no way to know what the OP did to draw the attention towards him. Not to mention that he had a cup of water (perhaps in the same cups that they put alcohol in), not a bottle of water as you have been hypothesizing. Since the OP there did not seem to come back to post anything further, we don't know.

In THIS thread, it's all hypothetical. Not to mention in the linked thread, it did not happen to you, yet you seem on fire to try and fight something that is almost certainly NOT going to happen to you.

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Quoting TechWorker

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Many concert venues in Chicago (where I live) are in downtown, which most people access via public transportation because parking is too damn expensive.

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Just another excuse. My reply still stands. If having water is so essential to you, take responsibility for yourself and plan ahead. If you put your mind to it, I’m sure you can come up with a solution. And, before you start with “well, why does the concert venue have to make it so hard for people, yadda yadda,” the venue is a private business and can make their own rules (within legal boundaries) – just like you can in your own house. Your desire for a sippy-cup on your way home is not their problem, it is yours. There are things called state liquor laws that regulate requirements for alcohol serving establishments. Forbidding the removal of alcoholic beverages from the premises is one of those requirements. If the venue has a rule that forbids the removal of ANY beverage from the premises, it is likely for a valid reason – like maybe they or other venues have had a problem with people trying to circumvent that law before.

As far as your inane question about them “stealing” your cell phone, etc. – seriously??? What stops YOU from stealing the cell phone of a visitor to your home, should you have a mind to? The answer to both your question and mine are the same. Try to keep a little realistic perspective, huh?

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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If what you had was water and that is what was seized, it’s pointless to sue for it since water at the tap is free and thus you suffered no damages from it. So, at best there what you get is $1 in token damages.

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Only $1? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Concerts in downtown Chicago let out pretty late, after all stores are closed. If I can not buy more water, and if I board a train home, and if the train gets delayed on the tracks for an extended amount of time (as has happened), then that means that I can get stuck without water for a long time. If I experience health issues due to being without water, that lawsuit will definitely be for much more than $1.

I know that cops are usually not the most forward-thinking people. So, they probably don't realize that the above scenario can occur. But I do.