Selling Alcohol to a Minor in Ohio at a Convience Store

[BOR]

CH, a summons is not mandated to be given on scene, however, verbally informing a person of a court appearance is baloney.

Were you given or handed ANY papers at all??

This is no doubt the state law she will be charged under?


http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4301.69


This is a "strict liability" offense, meaning state of mind/culpable mental state, mens rea, has no application.

I live in Ohio also, so am somewhat familiar with this.

The Revised code offers some "affirmative defenses" however.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4301.639

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4301.611

Whether or not you think any would apply??


IF no defense can be properly argued in court if the plea is not guilty, she will no doubt be found guilty.

Pay a visit to a library where they have the ORC, a main branch is probably the best bet. Look up 4301.69 and the other above defense sections I quote.

After each there will be case law annotations. Read through and see if any will help.

Jail time if convicted?? Don't expect any, but don't carve that in stone. Courts are not out to incarcerate for non repeat offenenders.

Since she is charged with a crime over a Minor Misdemeanor, she is entitled, if indigent, to a court paid attorney if she pleads not guilty.

[Concerned Husband]

wife of concerned husband

i just call the court to find out if that was the date i had to appear
the clerk said the charges are there and pending
that i would be served
that no court date was set
i was a lil confused
she said i needed to ask the officer

she also told me she could mark me down for that day because they do have court at that time
i agreed

i do have a previuos charge for tobacco
4 years ago
first offense
5 days in jail and 120.00 fine
jailtime waived
i was almost 9 mths pregnant
but havent had anything since

the person they sent in my opinion looked old enough
im 26
to me he looked at least my age maybe a year younger
and the only reason i id'd him was because he wasnt a regular
i think i was looking at his issue date and not his birth date
was an out of state license
was completely different than ohios

[BOR]

Unless you have an arguable affirmative defense as outlined, or another the court/jury may buy, you are most probably out of luck, as I said, selling beer to an underage person is a strict liability crime.

To abrogate the stictness of it, you need to provide a believable defense.

IF you can retain your own lawyer to try to attempt to bargain for a lesser charge. I have not sat in on a court proceeding in a while as an observer, but they may, before direct arraignment, ask each individual how they intend to plead before the Judge. IF this is so, ask if a plea bargain can be worked out and see what happens.

Back in my criminal law days I would sit in once a month or so, but it has been awhile.

[Concerned Husband]

Unless you have an arguable affirmative defense as outlined, or another the court/jury may buy, you are most probably out of luck, as I said, selling beer to an underage person is a strict liability crime.

To abrogate the stictness of it, you need to provide a believable defense.

IF you can retain your own lawyer to try to attempt to bargain for a lesser charge. I have not sat in on a court proceeding in a while as an observer, but they may, before direct arraignment, ask each individual how they intend to plead before the Judge. IF this is so, ask if a plea bargain can be worked out and see what happens.

Back in my criminal law days I would sit in once a month or so, but it has been awhile.

What should she do in this case. By state statues she is guilty because the crime did happen. Even though he had facial hair and all of the other terms that did not seem to coincide with the guidelines, she did sell it/

My only suggestion to my wife would be either to plead guilty for a chance of a plea, or no contest.

I told her to push the fact that they are measures in place for her to check id accordingly but they are not functioning, and the company is aware of it. In Ohio they have the card readers that verify the age, it has not worked in 5 years and the company deleted the software for the application a few years ago. Also the calendar or calculator to verify date for quickness is not in place.

I feel her best defense is to admit she made a mistake through clerical error, and that is was wrong and try an attempt to a plea of just paying the fine. Also I wonder if I she should bring up the fact that the ORC states that the person must not obtain any facial hair, as well as be small in stature, in this case the gentleman was not. Also she did check but the verification method was not accurate due to the state of issuance and the current understaffing of the establishment.

We also have the video that demonstrates he verifying age, should we bring that as well?

I am lost and I find it disheartening that the cashier faces more stressful issues than the establishment. The employer also told my wife she has to pay the stores fines, which to my knowledge is not legal. but that is another issue all together.

[LawResearcherMissy]

What should she do in this case.

She should retain counsel and do exactly as her lawyer tells her to do.

No, really, she's facing stiff fines and the possibility of jail - that ought to be enough to get anyone on the phone, talking to attorneys.

I told her to push the fact that they are measures in place for her to check id accordingly but they are not functioning, and the company is aware of it. In Ohio they have the card readers that verify the age, it has not worked in 5 years and the company deleted the software for the application a few years ago. Also the calendar or calculator to verify date for quickness is not in place.

None of that is going to get her off the hook. None of it. The card readers? Not mandated by law, they're just a nice little safeguard. Ditto on the calendars.

The person's DOB is clearly printed on the license. It is incumbent upon the person selling the alcohol to look at that.

The employer also told my wife she has to pay the stores fines, which to my knowledge is not legal. but that is another issue all together.

It isn't, and that's another issue her attorney can advise her on. Because really, she needs an attorney.

[tc498]

It's best to plead not guilty n see if they offer her a diversion or a lower charge.
She should consider hiring a lawyer to get the charge dismissed (prob a long shot )or to work out a favorable plea bargain.

You have to be careful w. out of state licenses,they confused me for a bit when I use to work as a cashier.Remembering to check the date and year is vital .One time it was march 15 for example and the guy turned 21 in 2 days,it almost slipped by me b.c i just noticed the date and month.I wasn't even sure what the date was.

Since jail time is a possibility,it's best to hire a lawyer.