To parents of students graduating from high school:
We are entering graduation season for high school students. Many graduates will be attending parties to celebrate the event. If you host such a party, be careful not to allow the event to become the cause of serious problems. You cannot allow minors to drink alcohol at graduation parties. Pennsylvania law provides for Social Host Liability for the service of alcohol to minors. This means that if you allow minors to drink alcohol in your home and they thereafter go out and drive a car and cause an accident, you would be responsible to the victim of the accident. I have seen cases where parents take car keys of high school graduates, thinking that if all of the graduates are staying overnight, any alcohol consumption will not be a problem. This does not work. Minors have ways to still go out and drive. Zero tolerance is the only way to go.
I recently became involved in a program designed to help keep our children away from heroin and other dangerous drugs. I have learned that many individuals become addicted to heroin after starting with prescription medications like Oxycodone. If you host a graduation party, make sure that any prescription medication is secured and not available to any party attendant.
This should be a happy season for you and your graduates. Please make sure it stays that way.
We wish all the best to the Class of 2015.
Dean Arthur is one of the most respected and well-known lawyers in Bucks County. A former president of the Bucks County Bar Association, Dean specializes in Civil and Commercial Litigation, Insurance Defense and Criminal Defense at Weber Kracht and Chellew.
This blog is designed for general information only. The information presented should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.