Tailgating is a time-honored tradition for countless sports fan and concertgoers, who see it as an opportunity to spend time with friends and meet new people before the start of the big event. While barbeques and coolers are a staple at most of these tailgating parties, so is alcohol. In fact, many safety advocates have long pointed to these parking lot parties as primary venues for underage drinking due to the relative lack of supervision and/or police presence.

Interestingly, this issue was recently at the center of a wrongful death case in the state of Massachusetts concerning a drunk driving crash that left two young women dead and one seriously injured.

The wrongful death suit in question was filed by the family of a 20-year-old woman who went tailgating in the parking lot of Gillette Stadium with two other friends prior to the start of a country music festival back in 2008. The women, none of whom had tickets to the actual show, brought alcohol with them to the parking lot despite being underage.

The women eventually decided to leave the venue, and were involved in a car crash less than a mile from Gillette Stadium when the driver — whose blood alcohol concentration was three times over the legal limit — left the road and struck a tree.

The lawsuit filed by the family of the young woman against the Kraft Group, owner of Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, claimed that it acted negligently by failing to police underage/excessive drinking in the parking lot and by failing to enforce its own “no ticket, no entry” policy enacted in 2007.

For their part, the Kraft Group argued that the group of young women was on the premises illegally as they had no tickets to the event and had furnished the alcohol themselves.

In recent developments, the two sides reached a settlement earlier this week just minutes before the commencement of trial. While terms of the settlement were not disclosed, the family had been seeking $2.5 million in damages.

The mother of the deceased young woman later expressed relief that the matter had finally come to a close, gratitude that Gillette Stadium security has now taken steps to combat excessive drinking, and hope that the lawsuit will serve to raise awareness about the dangers of tailgating and underage drinking.

While this was a purely civil matter, it’s important to remember that underage drinking and/or drunk driving charges can also have incredibly serious criminal consequences for young people. Accordingly, those in this situation here in Missouri should strongly consider speaking with an experienced attorney who will explain your options and fight to protect your future.

Source: The Boston Globe, “Settlement reached in lawsuit over crash deaths after 2008 concert at Gillette,” Peter Schworm, Nov. 4, 2013

At this time of the year, college campuses here in Missouri and across the nation are buzzing with activity as students prepare for mid-terms, work part-time jobs and manage a busy extracurricular calendar. Not surprisingly, many of these students somehow manage to also make time for alcohol consumption. However, a new study shows that many of them doing so are not necessarily of the legal drinking age.

A group of researchers at the University of Maryland set out to examine just how prevalent both underage drinking and fake IDs were on campus, interviewing 529 women and 486 men — all of whom had consumed alcohol at least once prior to their freshman year — throughout their four-year college career.

The study, which is published in the most recent edition of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that roughly 66 percent of students surveyed had used a fake ID. Furthermore, this 66 percent used these fake IDs nearly 25 percent of the time they engaged in underage drinking.

As if this wasn’t shocking enough, the study also found that fake ID use often resulted in increases in both drinking frequency and quantity, and even presented an elevated risk of developing drinking-related disorders.

“[W]e showed that while false ID use wasn’t directly related to [drinking-related disorders] risk; it indirectly predicted increases in [drinking-related disorder] risk over time through its contribution to increases in drinking frequency,” said one of the primary authors of the study.

It is also worth noting that the study named certain factors that many of the holders of fake IDs shared in common. These included some of the following: younger ages for first drink, involvement in Greek life, off-campus living and more aggressive levels of thrill seeking.

What are your thoughts on this study? Does possession of a fake ID potentially lead a person down a dangerous path toward addiction?

If you have been charged with underage drinking or drunk driving, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced attorney who will explain your options, and fight to protect your future.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, “Fake ID use tied to high-risk drinking by underage students,” Oct. 17, 2013

One of the unfortunate realities when it comes to underage drinking and college students is that it often crosses the line from mere experimentation to dangerous overindulgence. Indeed, statistics have shown that levels of binge drinking among college students continue to rise despite the education and enforcement efforts of officials at schools here in Missouri and throughout the U.S.

Interestingly, lawmakers in the state of Wisconsin are considering a somewhat novel approach to the problem of underage drinking: granting both academic and criminal immunity to those who seek assistance for themselves or others in those scenarios involving dangerous intoxication levels.

The immunity in question would be granted by two separate bills currently under deliberation in the state legislature:

• The first bill would prohibit the UW System Board of Regents from handing down academic-related punishment (suspension, expulsion, enrollment restrictions, etc.) against those intoxicated individuals who call 911 for medical assistance for either themselves or others. This academic immunity would also apply when the intoxicated student calls for help from law enforcement.
• The second bill would grant those individuals who call 911 for medical assistance for another immunity from underage drinking charges or any other intoxication-related criminal charges. Here, the person who called would be required to remain on the scene and provide assistance to law enforcement officials

“This law will help make Wisconsin a healthier, safer place where young adults do not have to fear being cited for underage drinking if they are being responsible enough to get help when they need it,” said Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison), sponsor of the first bill.

It is worth noting, however, that the University of Wisconsin Police Department has actually spoken out against both measures, claiming that they are entirely unnecessary given that the department already has responsible action guidelines in place for underage drinking.

What are your thoughts on this type of legislation? Is it a bad idea or will it help save lives?

If you have been charged with underage drinking or drunk driving, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced attorney who will explain your options, and fight to protect your future.

Source: The Badger Herald, “Students could see immunity from underage drinking tickets,” Aaron Drews, October 3, 2013

Earlier this month, a St. Charles County Circuit Court judge handed down a sentence in a drunk driving case involving a 26-year-old man who was involved in a chain-reaction car crash last summer that resulted in the death of a popular five-term St. Louis alderman.

According to court records, the young man was driving eastbound on Highway 370 at around 12:30 a.m. back on August 1, 2012, when he was involved in a minor fender bender with a passing big rig.

Unlike the truck he hit, which had pulled over to the side of the highway to inspect the damage, the young man stopped in the middle of the highway to survey the condition of his pickup truck.

Shortly thereafter, another semi truck heading in the same direction on Highway 370 saw the pickup in the middle of the road and stopped to offer assistance and warn the young man to get out of the road. During this time, yet another truck arrived at the scene, parking directly behind the first stopped truck.

Unfortunately, the city alderman — who had been a delivery driver for over 25 years — was driving down the same stretch of Highway 370 as part of his route, but failed to see the stopped semi trucks in the middle lane.A chain-reaction crash ensued and the alderman suffered what proved to be fatal injuries.

In the aftermath of the crash, the young man was charged with misdemeanor DWI and pleaded guilty to this charge just a few weeks ago in St. Charles County Circuit Court. Here, the presiding judge handed him a six-month suspended jail sentence and two years probation. He was also ordered to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, complete an alcohol treatment program, and abstain from purchasing, possessing and consuming alcohol.

While many people have questioned why the young man was not charged with involuntary manslaughter, the county prosecutor later indicated that their simply wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove that the young man acted with criminal recklessness and that it’s highly possible the alderman was not paying attention at the time of the wreck.

“There was another driver that was in the exact same lane and facing the exact same traffic conditions who was able to stop and do it safely,” he said.

If you have been arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced attorney who will explain your options, and fight to protect your future and your freedom.

Source: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Driver pleads guilty of DWI in crash that killed St. Louis Alderman,” Kim Bell, September 16, 2013

A York, Pennsylvannia District Attorney is planning to introduce evidence of a prior DWI and alcohol classes during the trial of man now charged with several charges including vehicular manslaughter. The DA disclosed his intention to use this evidence during a pretrial conference with the judge and defense attorney.

Prior DWI’s Generally Inadmissible as Evidence
The general rule in criminal trials is that evidence of prior criminal acts is not admissible as evidence. Such evidence would unduly prejudice the jury while adding very little probative value to the case at trial. Evidence that a man drove drunk once in the past does not make it more or less likely that he was driving drunk on the specific night in question during the trial. This general rule applies no matter how many prior DWI’s a person may have received.

Exception to the General Rule: Testifying in Your Own Defense
If a defendant chooses to take the stand to testify on his own behalf at trial, then the evidence of prior crimes, including any prior drunk driving cases, can come into evidence. There are multiple reasons for this, but the two most important are: 1) so the prosecutor can show the person was familiar with the procedures of a drunk driving investigation and arrest; and 2) evidence of prior crimes can be introduced to impeach the credibility of the defendant if he testifies in his own defense.

It is unlikely the York, Pennsylvannia DA will be allowed to introduce evidence of the prior drunk driving case, or of the alcohol related classes the defendant may have previously attended. This is one of the benefits for a defendant with priors during a drunk driving trial, and it is also why a defendant with multiple DWI’s still has the opportunity for a fair trial.

If you have been charged with a DWI or a Felony DWI and believe you may want to explore the possibility off fighting your case at trial, please contact The Law Office of Jason A. Korner for a consultation.

Source: www.ydr.com, “DA wants to raise prior DUI at trial for fire chief’s death,” Rick Lee, September 18, 2013.

Football fans here in St. Louis and across the state of Missouri are busy gearing up for the Rams home opener this coming Sunday. In fact, even though kickoff is still many hours away at this point, it hasn’t stopped local sports broadcasters and beat writers from providing every last detail about the team’s preparations and about the league in general.

Interestingly enough, as meticulous as the media coverage of the National Football League typically is, many outlets likely missed a very interesting story concerning a new step being taken by the NFL Players Association to help cut down on the number of drunk driving arrests involving both players.

On Wednesday, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith announced that the union had officially entered into a partnership with Uber, a transportation company that allows people to “request, ride and pay” via their mobile phone. Here, players will have the option of downloading the Uber app, which can then be used to summon safe transportation to their exact location in just a few keystrokes and in a matter of minutes.

According to Smith, the reasoning behind the NFLPA’s partnership with Uber was that something needed to be transformed regarding player behavior, as previous methods of trying to get players home safe after nights on the town weren’t necessarily doing the job.

“The goal with Uber was to not only provide quick access to great transportation, but also to really look at all of the ways we can act to change behavior,” said Smith. “The Uber system uses the GPS technology built into the phone, so you don’t have to take the additional step of actually calling someone and having a conversation. The ease of the technology improves the readiness to utilize the service.”

While some many naturally question the need for such a partnership, consider the large number of players arrested for drunk driving during the 2013 offseason. Consider also, the circumstances currently faced by Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent, who is now facing up to 20 years in prison on intoxication manslaughter charges after being involved in a car wreck back in December 2012 that killed a teammate.

It should be very interesting to see if this new partnership helps cut down on the number of DWI arrests among professional football players. In the meantime, if you have been arrested for driving while intoxicated, it’s imperative to consider speaking with an experienced attorney who will fight the charges against you.

Source: Sports Illustrated, “NFLPA partners with Uber to provide safer rides for players,” Doug Farrar, September 4, 2013