Selling or Furnishing
Alcohol to a
Minor in Utah
Salt Lake Criminal Defense Attorney - Providing Alcohol to a
Minor
Selling,
offering for sale, or otherwise providing or furnishing alcohol to a
person under the age of 21 in Utah is a criminal offense under Utah
Code 32B-4-403. Penalties can include up to one year and jail and
substantial fines.
If you are
facing criminal prosecution for providing alcohol to a minor, an
experienced Utah
criminal
defense attorney
can make all the difference. Based in Salt Lake City, criminal lawyer
Stephen Howard has successfully protected his clients rights in
thousands of serious felony and misdemeanor criminal defense cases. He
has defended his clients for a wide variety of
alcohol-related
criminal charges. His track record includes not guilty
verdicts and dismissals for some of the most serious charges on the
books in Utah.
Contact
us today to schedule an initial consultation.
Police Enforcement of Utah Code 32B-4-403

Many
charges for selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor in violation of
32B-4-403 involve coordinated police enforcement efforts. Rather than
waiting to receive a reported violation, police will enlist the
assistance of minors who are willing to try to purchase alcohol. Police
can send these minors to a convenience store or restaurant, with
instructions to attempt to purchase beer or other alcoholic products.
Often
it seems that these police enforcement efforts coincide with the
busiest times for the convenience store or restaurant. Many times, a
clerk or server is well-intentioned, and attempts to properly check the
customer's ID. But even a temporary distraction may cause the
clerk or server to make a mistake in checking the ID or to simply
forget to ask to see the ID.
If the store clerk or
restaurant server makes a mistake and sells,
offers to sell, or otherwise furnishes alcohol to the minor, the police
can enter the establishment and issue a citation to the employee. While
police have authority to make an arrest, normally a citation is issued
with instructions to contact the court in regard to scheduling a court
date.
The police use of minors to try to catch unsuspecting clerks or servers
may seem like
entrapment.
But police are generally trained to avoid conduct and tactics that
would rise to the level required to support an affirmative entrapment
defense.
Elements of a Criminal Charge for Providing Alcohol to a Minor
Criminal
charges for furnishing alcohol to a minor in Utah require evidence that
the defendant sold, offered to sell, or otherwise furnished or provided
alcohol to another person who is a minor. For purposes of this section
of the Utah criminal code, a minor is any person under the age of 21
years.
This
criminal charge does not require proof that the defendant
knew the minor was under the age of 21. Instead, the statute requires
at a minimum only that the defendant acted with simple negligence or
recklessly in
failing to determine whether the person receiving the alcohol was a
minor. A simple negligence standard does not require proof that the
defendant intended to provide alcohol to a person under the age of 21,
knew that the person was under the age of 21, or even consciously
disregarded a substantial risk that the person was under the age of 21.
Simple
negligence only requires evidence that the defendant did not exercise a
reasonable degree of care in determining (or failing to determine) the
minor's true age. In most circumstances, a clerk or restaurant server
is expected to request and check the customer's official state-issued
identification or driver license. If a mistake is made in reading the
ID or if no ID is requested, negligence will likely be found. On the
other hand, if a customer presents a fake ID which the clerk or server
is unable to detect as fake (assuming that it is a reasonably well-made
fake), then a clerk or server has exercised reasonable care and should
not be found negligent.
Penalties for Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor in Utah
The level of offense for supplying or selling alcohol to a minor can
depend on the intent (
mens
rea)
of the defendant. In most criminal prosecutions for providing alcohol
to a minor, the prosecutor can prove only that the defendant acted
recklessly or with simple negligence in regard to determining the
minor's age. If this is all that can be proven, then the charge is
filed at the class B
misdemeanor
level, with a maximum jail term of up to 180 days
But if a
prosecutor can prove that the defendant had actual knowledge that
the recipient of the alcohol was a minor under the age of
21, then the charge
can be filed as a class A misdemeanor. The maximum jail term for a
class A misdemeanor is 365 days.
In
addition to legal consequences, many stores and restaurants have
policies under which an employee can be terminated for selling alcohol,
even by mistake, to a minor.
Exceptions under Utah Code 32B-4-403
Utah
criminal law carves out some narrow exceptions to criminal liability
for providing alcohol to a minor. These exceptions focus on alcohol
that is provided for medicinal purposes. To meet this exception, the
alcoholic product must be provided to the minor by the minor's parent
or guardian, or by the minor's health care practitioner (doctor, nurse
practitioner, etc.)
Finding a Utah Criminal Defense Attorney in Salt Lake

As
an
experienced Utah
criminal defense attorney,
Stephen Howard has
protected his clients' rights in thousands of
felony
and misdemeanor cases. His experiences in trials, appeals, and in legal
motion practice have helped him develop a
defense strategy
designed to help give his clients the best chance at a positive outcome
in their cases. His
track record includes not
guilty verdicts and dismissals in some of the most serious criminal
charges on the books in Utah.
If you are facing prosecution in Utah for providing alcohol to a minor
or other criminal charges, you need an
experienced criminal defense attorney.
Contact
us now to schedule an initial consultation.
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