New law targets underage drinkers

Anyone under the age of 21 caught drinking may have his driver's license suspended.

Minors beware: Drinking alcohol, even a small amount, could lead to a loss of driving privileges.

Beginning this Sunday, a new law requires the state Department of Revenue to suspend driver's licenses for anyone under 21 caught drinking. And the law isn't limited to those caught with booze. Law officers can, with probable cause, require a breathalyzer test and prove possession.

Lawmakers also increased the penalties for people with numerous drunk driving convictions.

Any breath test resulting in a .02 percent or higher blood alcohol reading can result in a conviction.

"This includes college kids in the dorm," Cape Girardeau County prosecutor Morley Swingle said in a warning to students.

The new law increases the penalties for second and third convictions. A second conviction will mean a 90-day suspension, while a third offense means no driving for a year.

Swingle thinks the new law will mean a lot more work for his office. Minors charged with possessing alcohol will be more likely to fight the charge and ask for a jury trial rather than plead guilty, he said.

"They may think they can win it if the prosecutor has any trouble connecting them to the alcohol," Swingle said.

The new law supplements the "zero tolerance" law that takes away driving privileges of minors caught driving while in possession of alcohol or with a blood alcohol content of .02 percent or above. Swingle questioned the legislature's decision to widen the law's application.

"They have sort of gotten away from the whole purpose of zero tolerance to begin with," Swingle said. "Now with the automatic suspension without them having to be driving, they have lost that rational connection."

The head of traffic enforcement for Cape Girardeau police, Sgt. Jack Wimp, said he had heard of the new law but was waiting for Swingle to provide guidance for law officers.

Swingle, Wimp said, needs to provide information about "what the charge would be and what evidence they would want for the charge."

A training session will be held for law officers soon, Swingle said, because of the new penalties for youngsters who are drinking and because of the new penalties for repeat DWI offenders. He hasn't scheduled the training, he said.

The new DWI law adds penalties for fourth and fifth convictions for driving while intoxicated. Current law treats repeat offenses the same as a third offense, a Class D felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

A fourth offense will be a Class C felony, punishable by up to seven years, and the fifth offense will be a Class B felony, with a maximum term of 15 years.

The key point for officers -- and young people -- is the need for probable cause to make an arrest, Swingle said. Officers must have a reasonable belief that someone has been drinking before asking for a breath test, he said.

"A private citizen does not have to submit to a breath test without probable cause," he said. Probable cause includes possession of an alcoholic beverage or a noticeable odor of alcohol, he said.

In addition to the penalties, lawmakers included a provision requiring school districts to create policies dealing with students who drink or are drunk on campus or at school-sponsored events. The policies must be in place by July 2006.

The law does not specify what lawmakers want districts to do. The policies should "detail the consequences that will result" from drinking at school or a school activity.

Cape Girardeau School District already has such a policy, said Mike Cowan, principal of Cape Central High School. "We think we have a policy that is in tune with anything the legislature might want us to do."

The penalties for drinking at school include suspensions of up to 180 days, Cowan said. "If you are drinking on campus, you are going home."