Underage Possession of Alcohol
As shown by the following sections of Law our State does not tolerate the possession or consumption of alcohol by person's under the age of 21 years of age and the state has certain penalties for those who choose to disregard these Laws. Possessing and/or consuming alcohol while under the age of 21 may seem unfair or prohibitive by some but if we step back and take a good hard look at the number of injuries, deaths, family problems and other heartaches that alcohol causes, when used and abused by those who are underage, you cannot help but to understand why these Law's are enacted and enforced.
Section 65 of the New York State Alcohol and Beverage Control Law states: No person shall sell, deliver, or give away any alcoholic beverages to any person, actually or apparently, under 21 years of age. This section of law provides penalties to the person who supplies the alcohol to the underage person. It should also be understood that this person will be charged with a misdemeanor under the Penal Law for Unlawfully Dealing with a Child.
Section 65-b of this Law also states: No person under the age of 21 shall present or offer to any cashier or employee of a location that sells alcoholic beverage, any written evidence of age which is false, fraudulent or not actually his own, for the purpose of purchasing or attempting to purchase any alcoholic beverages.
A person violating this section shall be guilty of an Alcohol and Beverage Control Law violation and shall be sentenced in accordance with the following:
First Violation: a fine up to $100 and/or an appropriate amount of community service not to exceed thirty hours. In addition, the court may order completion of an alcohol awareness program.
Second Violation: a fine up to $350 and/or appropriate amount of community service not to exceed thirty hours. In addition, the court may order completion of an alcohol awareness program.
Third and subsequent violations: a fine up to $750 and/or an appropriate amount of community service not to exceed thirty hours. The court also shall order such person to submit to an evaluation by an appropriate agency certified or licensed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services to determine whether the person suffers from the disease of alcoholism or alcohol abuse.
In addition to the penalties above: the court may suspend such person's driver's license or their privilege of obtaining such license if a driver's license was used for the purpose of the illegal purchase or attempt to illegally purchase alcohol.
First Violation: a 3 month license suspension.
Second Violation: a 6 month license suspension
Third or subsequent violation: a suspension of their license for one year or until the holder reaches the age of 21, whichever is the greater period of time.
The act we just spoke about, possessing an altered document used to verify age, such as a drivers license, is also punishable under the Penal Laws as Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, a misdemeanor. The act of using someone else's documents, such as a drivers license, to misrepresent your age or who you are, is called Criminal Impersonation, another misdemeanor under the Penal Law.
Section 65-c1 of this law also states: No person under 21 shall possess any alcoholic beverage, as defined in this chapter, with the intent to consume such beverage. If a determination is made sustaining such charge the court may impose a fine not exceeding $50 and/or completion of an alcohol awareness program established pursuant to section 19.25 of the mental hygiene law and/or an appropriate amount of community service not to exceed thirty hours.
Each year hundreds of adults and juveniles in our community face these and other similar charges related to alcohol. Alcohol is looked upon as a right of passage into adulthood by some or the "thing to do" by others but the fact remains that as long as we continue to make light of the effects of alcohol has on our youth then we will continue to see newspaper headlines about the 17 year old arrested for DUI, the 18 year old high school senior who did not make it home from a graduation party, the 19 year old college student who never woke up after a night of binge drinking or the intoxicated 20 year old who drove into a path of an oncoming car, killing the other driver.
It's The Law
Unpaid Parking Tickets
All municipalities deal with parking tickets differently. Some municipalities charge very expensive fines, some have your vehicle towed, at your expense, and some do both. If your vehicle is towed you will have the tow bill and possibly a storage or impound fee to pay, before the vehicle is returned to you.
Ogdensburg:
Parking fines are $10 - $80
Fines double after 10 days from issuance, if left unpaid.
New York State Law:
allows for the suspension of your vehicle's
registration if you have three or more unpaid parking tickets.
If your vehicle's
registration is suspended, anyone caught driving this vehicle will be
arrested for the misdemeanor offense of Operating a Motor Vehicle with a
Suspended Registration. Anyone found guilty of this charge will have a
criminal record.
In order to get your registration suspension lifted, you must pay all of your
outstanding fines to the municipality that has jurisdiction over the parking
tickets. You may have to wait for a period of time {to be determined by DMV}
before your registration will be cleared and your license plates are returned to
you or new ones are issued.
SCOFFLAW - One who habitually violates the law or who fails to answer court summonses.
If you receive a parking ticket you have the right to a trial to give your side of the events that led up to the issuance of the ticket and any information or reasons why you think you should not have been ticketed.
Unpaid Vehicle and Traffic Tickets
In New York State, a
traffic ticket {no seatbelt, speeding, failure to signal, tinted windows etc.}
that you plead guilty to, or are found guilty of after trial, must be paid in
full within 60 days. Court surcharges {$45} are applied to all vehicle and
traffic fines as well as a victims fee {$5} Add these to your fine and this is
the total that must be paid within 60 days.
Surcharges and fines for DUI are different than regular traffic tickets. The
fine for DUI is $500, the surcharge is $110 and the victims fee is $20, for a
total of $650.
WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO PAY MY FINE?
If the 60 day period has passed, the court that you were to report to will send your license information to the Department of Motor Vehicles {DMV} and they will suspend {scofflaw} your driver's license. Once your license is suspend, if you are caught driving, you will be arrested for the misdemeanor offence of Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 3rd degree. If found guilty of this charge you will have a criminal record.
HOW DO I GET MY LICENSE BACK?
In order to get your license back you must have all of your unpaid traffic ticket fines and surcharges, paid, in full, to the court(s) where the tickets were returnable and pay a $35 scofflaw fee.
If you receive a traffic ticket you also have the right to a trial, just like parking tickets, to give your side of the events that led up to the issuance of the ticket and any information or reasons why you think you should not have been ticketed.
It's The Law
Parking Violations
When you park your vehicle, whether its for the night or just for a minute, there are a few things you need to know:
Signs are not required at all locations where parking is prohibited. Some of these locations, such as in front of a fire hydrant, blocking a crosswalk or on a bridge are considered to be known by all persons who drive a motor vehicle.
Signs, posted at the curb, will advise drivers what they can and can't do when it comes to parking their vehicles in certain locations, such as:
NO PARKING- No person shall park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, but may stop temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers.
-What this means is that you can stop your vehicle at this location only long enough to load or unload people or packages.
If you drop someone off and wait for them to run into the store and pick up a soda, you are in violation.
If you park your car and run into the store yourself to buy that soda, you are in violation.
NO STANDING- No person shall stand or park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, but may stop temporarily for the purpose of an while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers.
-What this means is that you can stop your vehicle at this location and drop someone off or let someone into your vehicle.
If you wait for someone to come out of a store and you are just sitting there, you are in violation.
If you stop your vehicle and unload a trunk full of groceries you are in violation.
NO STOPPING- No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic controlled sign or signal.
-What this means is that unless you are told to stop by a Police Officer or a traffic control device you cannot stop your vehicle at this location.
If you stop your vehicle to pick up or drop off a few friends, you are in violation.
If you stop your vehicle to load your groceries, you are in violation.
If you have an idea for a topic that you are not clear on, send an e-mail or stop by my office in room 225-B.