It is high school graduation time and parents are faced with the dilemma of whether to have a graduation party for their graduate in which alcohol will be present. Some parents try to rationalize and find ways to provide alcohol to the kids as a way for the youths to participate in the festivities.
Parents’ plans in this regard include making the young partiers sleep over while taking their car keys. Well parents…kids theses days are very resourceful and with twitter and cell phones, can be picked up and driven away by another youth – with a beer in hand – and believe it or not, these kids know how to escape from basements without the adults knowing.
Speaking as an experienced Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney, the bottom line is that parents who try to rationalize providing alcohol to kids are subjecting themselves to both criminal and civil liability. Parents could be charged with ‘contributing to the delinquency of a minor’ to ‘accessory to a crime’ and more. Civilly, parents should be aware that their homeowners insurance will not cover them if the child hurts or kills himself or herself after he or she leaves their home after drinking.
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