Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Scenario:

Three families. All married couples with two children. Couple 1: Ages 45 and 46, children ages 5 and 6. Couple 2: Ages 44 and 46, children ages 16 and 19. Couple 3: Ages 44, 47 separated, but joint responsibility for children ages 18 and 15.

Couples 1 and 2 bought a houseboat together, joint ownership with the registration in the men's names. Couple 3 likes to come as visitors to the houseboat with their kids and their kids friends.

Question:

Under California law who, of the parenting adults, is responsible for halting, interfering with, and preventing under age drinking under the following circumstances, and what means is reasonable to stop it, if the under age drinkers are defiant or exclaim that their parents are allowing it:

Circumstance 1: Couple 2 is absent but their 19 year old is present with a 17 year friend, and is drinking, sharing alcohol that is taken from the adults cooler, with 16 year old girls who are the minor friends of couple three. The two men present are drinking. The wife of couple 1 is sober and present. All adults are aware that under age drinking may be a possibility and may be a problem. One attempt to ask the 19 year old not to drink has been made and he has continued to drink thinking he is hiding it.

Circumstance 2: Couple 1 and Couple 3 are present and couple 3 knows that the 16 year old girls, friends of their own children are drinking and couple 3 has taken the position that "the kids are safe and are not driving anywhere, we are isolated on a houseboat and no cops are around". Couple 1 does not agree, but knows that couple 3 is responsible for the kids they invited. Can couple 3 allow them to drink on property that is not theirs? Can couple three take the responsibility? Can Couple 2 assume responsibility and end the problem? With how much force to the kids who are being protected by their parents and their friends parents?

Circumstance 3. Couple 2 is present, no other families are present. Father of couple two allows his 19year old, his 16 year old and their friends to drink knowingly. If something goes wrong, injury, death, illness, damage, boating accident, or harming of others or oother's property, who is liable? all owners of the houseboat even if we are not present? Only the parent present? The kid who is 19?

Please advise. I can give more detail as needed, and hope this is enough to go on. Again, all this is assumed to be taking place on the houseboat in California, with adult knowledge or adult disregard to investigate knowing the possibilities of alcohol use, considering the history of the kids involved.

Thank you.


Asked on 6/07/10, 10:45 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

I am not concentrating on the detailed and mutiple facts you state. In general, adults are responsible as to the under-aged drinking that they are aware of or reasonably should be aware of of their minor children and the drinking of other minors on property they own or control.

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Answered on 6/07/10, 3:00 pm


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