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MUNICIPAL COURT
PAGE
INDEX
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DMV Points
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Fines & Penalties
(when Court is
Mandatory)
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Fines & Penalties
(when Court is Not
Mandatory)
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DWI / DUI / Refusal
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Underage DWI
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Open Container in MV
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Driving Under
Influence of Drugs
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Driving While in
Possession of Drugs
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Driving While License
Suspended
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Uninsured Driver
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Reckless Driving
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Careless Driving
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Disorderly Conduct
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Speeding in 65 mph
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"Hit & Run"
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Assault
- Biography
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Alcoholic Beverage
Control Law
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ABC Quiz
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Municipal Court
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DWI / DUI
- All Traffic Violations
- DMV Points & Fines
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- Disorderly Persons
Personal Injury
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Car
Accidents
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Entertainment Law
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Music and
Bands
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Real
Estate
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Residential
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Underage Possession or Consumption of Alcohol
Conviction under this statute is considered a criminal
disorderly persons offense. Further, the Judge has the discretion to
force a person found guilty of this offense to attend an alcohol
treatment center. However, an experienced attorney knows how to
negotiate with a prosecutor to downgrade or possibly even beat this
potentially serious charge.
The Statute
2C:33-15. Possession, consumption of
alcoholic beverages by persons under legal age; penalty
a. Any person under the legal age to purchase
alcoholic beverages who knowingly possesses without legal authority or who
knowingly consumes any alcoholic beverage in any school, public
conveyance, public place, or place of public assembly, or motor vehicle,
is guilty of a disorderly persons offense, and shall be fined not less
than $500.00.
b. Whenever this
offense is committed in a motor vehicle, the court shall, in addition to
the sentence authorized for the offense, suspend or postpone for six
months the driving privilege of the defendant. Upon the conviction
of any person under this section, the court shall forward a report to the
Division of Motor Vehicles stating the first and last day of the
suspension or postponement period imposed by the court pursuant to this
section. If a person at the time of the imposition of a sentence is
less than 17 years of age, the period of license postponement, including a
suspension or postponement of the privilege of operating a motorized
bicycle, shall commence on the day the sentence is imposed and shall run
for a period of six months after the person reaches the age of 17 years.
If a person at the time of the imposition
of a sentence has a valid driver's license issued by this State, the court
shall immediately collect the license and forward it to the division along
with the report. If for any reason the license cannot be collected,
the court shall include in the report the complete name, address, date of
birth, eye color, and sex of the person as well as the first and last date
of the license suspension period imposed by the court.
The court shall inform the person orally
and in writing that if the person is convicted of operating a motor
vehicle during the period of license suspension or postponement, the
person shall be subject to the penalties set forth in R.S.39:3-40. A
person shall be required to acknowledge receipt of the written notice in
writing. Failure to receive a written notice or failure to
acknowledge in writing the receipt of a written notice shall not be a
defense to a subsequent charge of a violation of R.S.39:3-40.
If the person convicted under this section
is not a New Jersey resident, the court shall suspend or postpone, as
appropriate, the non-resident driving privilege of the person based on the
age of the person and submit to the division the required report.
The court shall not collect the license of a non-resident convicted under
this section. Upon receipt of a report by the court, the division shall
notify the appropriate officials in the licensing jurisdiction of the
suspension or postponement.
c. In addition to the
general penalty prescribed for a disorderly persons offense, the court may
require any person who violates this act to participate in an alcohol
education or treatment program, authorized by the Department of Health and
Senior Services, for a period not to exceed the maximum period of
confinement prescribed by law for the offense for which the individual has
been convicted.
d. Nothing in this act
shall apply to possession of alcoholic beverages by any such person while
actually engaged in the performance of employment pursuant to an
employment permit issued by the Director of the Division of Alcoholic
Beverage Control, or for a bona fide hotel or restaurant, in accordance
with the provisions of R.S.33:1-26, or while actively engaged in the
preparation of food while enrolled in a culinary arts or hotel management
program at a county vocational school or post secondary educational
institution.
e. The provisions of
section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a) shall apply to a parent,
guardian or other person with legal custody of a person under 18 years of
age who is found to be in violation of this section.
L.1979,c.264,s.1; 1979, c.264; amended 1991, c.169, s.2; 1997, c.161
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