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Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Warning: Ignorance of law is not an excuse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They probably think it’ll never happen to them. That they’ll never get a DUI or do time for consuming and possessing drugs and alcohol.
After all, they are teenagers - naive about the law, the judicial system, consequences perhaps.
Sunday night, about 60 students and parents attended a frank, graphic presentation on drug use, alcohol and sex at Tucker First United Methodist Church. Atlanta attorney Steven Ashby and Jim Anderson, municipal judge for the city of Sandy Springs, didn’t sugarcoat.
“Everyone of you could be tried as an adult for certain crimes,” said Ashby, the first speaker. “There are numerous teens sitting in jail as we speak. These children are your age.”
He touched on a number of scenarios and applicable laws.
“If you take one swallow [of booze], you have possessed alcohol,” he said. “You can be arrested, convicted and serve 12 months for alcohol consumption.”
Parents throwing parties for children is more common than you think, he said. “That parent is guilty of a felony. If you are at a party like this, leave the party. Don’t leave it by slipping away. Let somebody know. That way you have an alibi.”
The session mirrored a blueprint provided by J. Tom Morgan, a child advocate and former DeKalb County district attorney. He realized teenagers don’t know the law and wrote a self-published book, “Ignorance Is No Defense: A Teenager’s Guide to Georgia Law.” (It’s available at www.ignoranceisnodefense.com/).
What I liked about Ashby and Anderson’s presentation was the nod to its limitations. They acknowledged that they could talk till they were blue in the face about right and wrong, what to do and what to avoid.
Ultimately, though, they know there’s this thing we have - me, you, teens. It’s free will. The way we exercise control over our actions and decisions. We know it’s wrong to do any number of things. Sometimes, we still do it.
Anderson told the teens that some of them would try their luck, tempt fate.
“Which one of you wants to be the patient because of drinking and driving?” he asked. “Which one of you wants to be the next. Who will be the next? You think you’re special because you’re young, that you have great reflexes and good tires. That you’re better. So you think it’s not going to happen to me.”
At UGA, friends and I celebrated my 21st birthday with Coke and rum, 151-proof. I woke up at some point in the night because Jeff, my roommate, was tapping on my shoulder. I was vomiting in my sleep, choking. It’s a story I’ve shared with my son many times. Just so he knows.
Amanda Henley, Tucker First’s youth minister, put together Sunday’s “Teen and the Law” program. It was a timely event. Over the weekend, a teen church member was involved in a car accident that left one boy paralyzed and another comatose. It’s unclear what caused the accident. The church member wasn’t seriously injured.
“They think nothing is going to happen to them, when it very well can,” Henley said. “They are just as likely to die as an 85-year-old.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ ajc.com.
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