Left: University of Central Oklahoma students Justin Early, standing, and Bryan Eastman and Spencer Weaver, seated from left, were arrested this year for violating Edmond's social host ordinance. Monday marks the first anniversary of the law to stop underage drinking. By JACONNA AGUIRRE, THE OKLAHOMAN
About the law
Intent: To curb underage drinking.
Specifics: Adults must take action to prevent underage drinking on their property.
Cost: $500 fine, $44 court fee and up to 60 days in jail.
Impact: 71 arrests — three parents. Also, seven other Oklahoma cities have passed similar laws.
Basis: San Diego law.
EDMOND — Parties with underage drinking have stopped at 420 N Jackson St.
"I've learned,” said Spencer Weaver, who lives on Jackson Street and is one of 71 people arrested in Edmond in the last 12 months for violating the city's social host ordinance. The law was written to fight underage drinking by making it illegal for adults to allow it on their property.
"We keep our house pretty tight,” Weaver said.
Monday marks the first anniversary of the social host law.
Edmond was the first city in Oklahoma to pass such a law. Midwest City, Moore, Mustang, Shawnee, Tecumseh, Yukon and Ponca City have since enacted similar ordinances.
Oklahoma is one of 20 states with such criminal laws addressing underage drinking. There are between 150 and 200 communities in the United States with similar laws, said Stacy Saetta, a legal policy researcher at the Center for the Study of Law and Enforcement Police in Felton, Calif.
Weaver and his two roommates, Justin Early and Bryan Eastman, all 19-year-old University of Central Oklahoma students, were arrested Aug. 19, a week before school started. They claim when they got arrested, the party was really being held next door and some guests migrated to their house.Weaver said he had only been home from work 30 minutes and was playing a soccer video game when the cops showed up.
"I personally paid everything. I'm pretty much on my own, and that was money I could have used for school,” Weaver said.
The men went to jail that night and were each ordered to pay $544 in fines and court costs. Plus, they were punished on campus. Each was made to complete five hours of community service, take an Alcoholics Anonymous online course and write a 500-word essay on how drinking affects their lives.
There are no more parties at Angela Morris' apartment, either. Her parents made her move back home after she was arrested for violating the social host ordinance March 3, the night of her 19th birthday party.
Morris said she didn't know about the social host law the night she was arrested.
"I had been to parties, and the cops just poured out the alcohol,” Morris said. "I didn't expect to get arrested.”
The law is working better than city officials had hoped.
"Edmond is a safer place today than a year ago because of the social host ordinance,” Police Chief Bob Ricks said. "I think there are fewer underage drinkers on the road. There are no downsides to it.”
Edmond's ordinance is patterned after a law in San Diego that stood up to scrutiny during several court challenges.
The ordinance requires someone hosting a party to take action to ensure underage drinking isn't happening on the property. That includes monitoring the amount of alcohol present and verifying the age of those drinking.
Violators can be fined $500 and ordered to pay $44 in court costs. They also could face 60 days in jail. City Attorney Stephen Murdock said no one has been sentenced to jail time in Edmond. Edmond's law was written t
