HOUSTON — A homeowner has been arrested for furnishing alcohol to a minor after two people were injured during a shooting at a house party.
Read about the story, here.
Here’s what the law says about serving alcohol at your home, whether it is to someone over or under 21 years- old.
Q: Is it ever legal to give an underage person alcohol?
A: According to the National Institutes of Health; yes, however, the person providing the alcohol must be a parent, guardian or spouse and they must be present during possession and consumption.
For everyone else it is illegal and a class A misdemeanor which carries up to a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
Q: If an underage person brought their own alcohol into someone’s home and drank it without the homeowner knowing, criminal charges are unlikely to be filed.
A: According to KHOU legal analyst Gerald Treece it’s all about intent. So, if a homeowner didn’t know the alcohol, was there's no intent.
Q: What about an adult? Are you liable if an adult drinks at your home then gets into trouble driving home?
A: Treece says the answer is no. In Texas, homeowners are not liable if that person is 21 or over. The law is different for commercial establishments.