Open house party hosting can be dangerous to both finances and freedom. Most states permit parents to serve their own children alcohol. However, it is illegal to do so with the offspring of others. Even when they give permission.

A prosecutor in Florida ran for office on a promise to crack down on open house parties. These were parties at which underage adults drank alcohol. Following his election, he charged a woman with manslaughter. A young adult who became intoxicated at a gathering at her house. Shortly after which he died along with his passenger in his speeding car.

Florida Alcohol Law

Florida courts have held that serving alcohol to underage persons who are later crash is simple negligence. It’s not the culpable negligence required for manslaughter.

According to state law, it is criminal negligence for an intoxicated person to drive a vehicle. If any death results, it is the drunk driver who is criminally negligent. And it is the driver who is guilty of manslaughter.

According to Florida case law, it’s illegal to prevent an intoxicated  person from leaving one’s property. To do so is an illegal arrest.

Prosecutor Tries to Change Law Himself

However, the prosecutor attempted to create duties and obligations that are not recognized. Either by statute, case law, or common law. He tried to create criminal negligence, instead of simple negligence, on the part of the social host.

The prosecutor did this in spite of the one simple fact. The state Supreme Court held that any state law to criminalize simple negligence would be unconstitutional.

Not even the law could criminalize simple negligence. But the prosecutor attempted to do so himself by using a jury. So the prosecutor was attempting to “Nifong“¹ the defendant. The Florida Times-Union called it an unprecedented case.

Prosecutor Argues

Among other arguments, the prosecutor asserted that intoxication causes speeding. He also insisted that the defendant should have known something else. That an intoxicated young driver would probably or likely have a fatal crash.

The defense’s expert witness testified that intoxication does not cause speeding. In fact, some drunk drivers choose to speed whereas others choose to drive slowly in order to avoid being caught.

He also testified that it is not at all probable or likely that an underage drunken driver would be involved in a fatal crash. The expert used government statistics to show that the chances are as few 10,000ths or less.

The jury took only about two hours to acquit the defendant of manslaughter charges. Defense attorney Gerald Bettman had long argued that the law did not support the prosecution’s charges of manslaughter. “They knew from the beginning, if they’d done their homework, that the law did not support these charges,” said Bettman. He added “It wasn’t fair.”