Increased drinking fines lead to mixed responses

    Georgia law prohibits any person under 21 to purchase, attempt to purchase, possess or attempt to possess alcohol. That being said, the following quote may or may not come as a surprise. “Underage drinking is estimated to account for between 12% and 20% of the U.S. market,” according to a 2003 study of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.
    On Aug. 9, the Milledgeville Municipal Court, which handles misdemeanor traffic cases, violations of city ordinances and some misdemeanor state cases, announced that the way the court handles the issue of underage drinking was in need of a change. Judge David McRee, who presides over the court, decided that if you are charged with underage possession of alcohol, you will pay the original fine of $407, as well as face new additional consequences.
    According to Lisa Brooks, clerk of court, the court has become much stricter about the issue. The new consequences are as follows. If one pleas guilty or nolo contendere (the defendant does not admit the charge, but does not dispute it either) and agrees to complete the Integrity Project Program, which costs $300, and Probation, which costs $39 per month (for up to 6 months), then his or her license will not go into suspension and he or she will be able to expunge the arrest for underage possession of alcohol off his or her criminal record. So, that’s a cost of $941, at the very least.
    However, if one does not agree to this and pleas  guilty or is found guilty by the Judge, then one will lose his or her license for a period of 6 months, pay the $407 fine and it will not be expunged from his or her criminal record.
    Brooke Williams, 21, a junior mass communication major, was shocked when informed of the new consequences.
    “Its interesting to compare the consequences now with how they were 3 years ago, my freshman year. When I was arrested, all I had to do was pay a flat fine and you didn’t have to worry about it going onto your record unless you had a repeated offense. Now, you have to go through probation and all that,” she said.
    Ben Lambert, 25, senior political science major, was not surprised at all by the amount of money that these new consequences will cost those who are arrested for underage drinking.
    “I think it’s just a way for the city to milk the students for more money,” he said.
    Lambert is not the only student who thinks the cost of the consequences seems too high. Mark Poole, 22, a senior international business major, said this about the underage drinking fines, “Honestly, I think its a little overkill. I don’t think the payment fits the crime.”
    As one can conclude, many more students agree that the new consequences are too harsh. However, the court made these new consequences in order to show that they do not take the issue of underage drinking lightly. Undoubtedly, Judge McRee and the court hope to lower underage drinking incidents with these new rules set in place.
    For more information contact the Municipal court by email at court@milledgevillepd.
com or by phone at (478) 414-4004. Municipal court is held in the court room at the James Baugh Public Safety building located at 125 West McIntosh St.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 8 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry