You can not sell, offer or furnish alcohol to a minor in Utah. It is a Class B Misdemeanor if you accidentally, or negligently offer, sell or furnish alcohol to a minor. It is a Class A Misdemeanor if you intentionally sell, offer or furnish alcohol to a minor.
It may be hard to recognize when you could be charged with Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor in Utah. Below are some examples that can help you take note of what would be considered a criminal act:
Example 1: You and some other parents from the neighborhood are having a BBQ at your Provo home. Alcohol is offered and found in the refrigerator and cooler sitting by the BBQ. Your friend’s minor children get into your cooler, get drunk and the Provo Police Department somehow arrive on scene. The neighbor children are cited for minor in possession of alcohol, but you are also cited for negligently furnishing alcohol to minors. This could be charged as a Class B negligently furnishing alcohol to a minor.
So did you really negligently furnish alcohol to the neighbor’s children? Or did they take the initiate themselves? This is where an effective criminal defense attorney can help the prosecutor understand what negligence really means and whether you should be charged.
Example 2: You and your friends are having a dinner party at your Orem home. The adults are now wildly drunk, and the teenagers in the house decide to take advantage of this. Sometimes the teenagers are being offered alcohol by the intoxicated adults, and other times they are just taking the alcohol from the parents. The Orem Police Department shows up. The children are charged with minors in possession. You and your friends are blanket charged with intentionally furnishing alcohol to minors.
So being under the influence as an adult, does that mean in this situation you were Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor in Utah? Did you really intentionally furnish alcohol to the children? Or where they just taking them while you were not looking and you were negligent at best? An effective Utah Furnishing Alcohol to Minors defense attorney can show the prosecutor that this was negligence at best, not intention furnishing alcohol to minors.
Class A Misdemeanor: It could be possible that you will be charged with a A Class A Misdemeanor that carries up to one year in the county jail.
Class B Misdemeanor: It is also possible you could be charged with A Class B Misdemeanor when dealing with Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor in Utah. A Class B Misdemeanor carries up to six months in the county jail. You will be assessed a fine that can be paid over the course of your probationary term that will likely be around 12 months depending on the agreement made between you and the prosecutor. You will not be placed on supervised probation, but only court reporting. Court reporting is where you don’t report to anyone, unless you get in trouble with the law during your probation. If you are charged while under probationary terms, the court can bring an order to show cause of why you have violated your probationary terms.
Furnishing alcohol to minor for religious or medicinal purposes is not illegal in Utah. It is recognized exception for medical providers or parents to be able to furnish alcohol for medicinal or religious purposes.
Having an attorney fight for your rights, or lower your charge and or probationary terms is the smartest way to handle your Furnishing a Alcohol to a Minor in Utah case.
Expungement of a Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor Conviction in Utah. 5 Years, 4 Years Pleas in Abeyance.
The waiting period for a Class A Misdemeanor to start the expungement process, meaning complete removal of the charge on your record process is five years. The waiting period for Class B Misdemeanors to expunge your Utah criminal records is four years. If you receive a plea in abeyance on your Utah Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor, then you only have to wait 30 days after the successfully complete your probation to start the expungement process. An experienced attorney can help you with the process of expunging your Utah Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor Charge.
32B-4-403. Unlawful sale, offer for sale, or furnishing to minor.
(1) A person may not sell, offer for sale, or furnish an alcoholic product to a minor.
(2) (a) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (3), a person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if the person who violates Subsection (1) negligently or recklessly fails to determine whether the recipient of the alcoholic product is a minor.
(ii) As used in this Subsection (2)(a), “negligently” means with simple negligence.
(b) Except as provided in Subsection (3), a person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if the person who violates Subsection (1) knows the recipient of the alcoholic product is a minor.
(3) This section does not apply to the furnishing of an alcoholic product to a minor in accordance with this title:
(a) for medicinal purposes by:
(i) the parent or guardian of the minor; or
(ii) the health care practitioner of the minor, if the health care practitioner is authorized by law to write a prescription; or
(b) as part of a religious organization’s religious services.
Enacted by Chapter 276, 2010 General Session
