Senate Bill S7456

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7456

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the alcoholic beverage control law,
in relation to authorizing courts to render default judgments in cases
of failure to answer for unlawful possession of an alcoholic beverage
with the intent to consume by persons under the age of twenty-one
years

This measure would amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to
authorize a court outside a city with a population of over one million
to render a default judgment of a fine against a person who does not
appear in court within the specified time to answer a charge of
underage possession of alcohol.  This measure supplants our previous
recommendation of an amendment to the Vehicle and Traffic Law
authorizing courts to authorize suspension of a driver's license under
the same conditions.

Years of experience in the judicial, law enforcement and child-welfare
communities demonstrate that a charge of under-age possession of
alcohol may be the first and best opportunity to avert more serious
and potentially life-threatening alcohol-related offenses. When
defendants less than age 21 are charged with under-age possession of
alcohol with intent to consume under Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §
65-c, authorized sentences of requiring completion of alcohol
awareness programs and community service offer potential judicial
remedies to help deter drunk driving and other more serious offenses.
              

Unfortunately, many of these young defendants ignore their appearance
tickets or, if convicted, ignore the very sentences calculated to
discourage more serious offenses. Under current law, there is no
practical redress or other remedy besides contempt, a
resource-intensive path that may lead to incarceration inapposite for
these offenders. For that reason, large numbers of under-age
defendants flaunt the law: many do so precisely because they know
there is no negative consequence for ignoring the charge or sentence.
This, in turn, compounds their disrespect for the law and encourages
further offenses. The Internet is rife with advice for teens
concerning the lack of negative consequences for ignoring appearance
tickets or court-imposed penalties for under-age drinking.  Given
these dynamics, it is little surprise that in some courts, the scoff
rate on under-age alcohol possession exceeds 30%. These dynamics are
particularly evident after proms, concerts, festivals and other large
gatherings of teens, which expose teens not only to alcohol but also
to the risk of drunk driving. Remedies for alcohol-possession
violations are sorely needed in order to deter drunk driving and
prevent injuries and deaths.

While fully cognizant that under-age offenders are minors for whom our
law must take an especially measured approach, New York State must
ensure that courts have effectual remedies at their disposal when
persons charged with under-age possession of alcohol fail to appear or
complete court-ordered sentences. By doing so, the Legislature would
promote respect for the law and the courts generally, and help prevent
more serious offenses and concomitant risk to life.

Accordingly, this measure would authorize a court to render a civil
default judgment against a defendant who fails to answer a charge of
under-age possession of alcohol with intent to consume under ABC Law §
65-c, or who is convicted and fails to timely satisfy his or her
sentence. This limited approach seeks only to bring these defendants
before the court to answer charges and honor sentences that are
calculated to educate them and prevent potentially life-threatening
behaviors.

This measure, which would have no fiscal impact on state or local
governments, would take effect on the first day of January next
succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall
apply where the acts constituting unlawful possession of an alcoholic
beverage with intent to consume for the offense of which the person is
convicted occurred on or after such effective date.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None. New proposal.