2006 Code of Virginia § 4.1-305 - Purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages unlawful in certain cases; venue; exceptions; penalty...

4.1-305. Purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages unlawful in certaincases; venue; exceptions; penalty; forfeiture; deferred proceedings;treatment and education programs.

A. No person to whom an alcoholic beverage may not lawfully be sold under 4.1-304 shall consume, purchase or possess, or attempt to consume, purchaseor possess, any alcoholic beverage, except (i) pursuant to subdivisions 1through 7 of 4.1-200; (ii) where possession of the alcoholic beverages by aperson less than 21 years of age is due to such person's making a delivery ofalcoholic beverages in pursuance of his employment or an order of his parent;or (iii) by any state, federal, or local law-enforcement officer whenpossession of an alcoholic beverage is necessary in the performance of hisduties. Such person may be prosecuted either in the county or city in whichthe alcohol was possessed or consumed, or in the county or city in which theperson exhibits evidence of physical indicia of consumption of alcohol.

B. No person under the age of 21 years shall use or attempt to use any (i)altered, fictitious, facsimile or simulated license to operate a motorvehicle, (ii) altered, fictitious, facsimile or simulated document,including, but not limited to a birth certificate or student identificationcard, or (iii) motor vehicle operator's license, birth certificate or studentidentification card of another person in order to establish a falseidentification or false age for himself to consume, purchase or attempt toconsume or purchase an alcoholic beverage.

C. Any person found guilty of a violation of this section shall be guilty ofa Class 1 misdemeanor; and upon conviction, (i) such person shall be orderedto pay a mandatory minimum fine of $500 or ordered to perform a mandatoryminimum of 50 hours of community service as a condition of probationsupervision and (ii) the license to operate a motor vehicle in theCommonwealth of any such person age 18 or older shall be suspended for aperiod of not less than six months and not more than one year. The court, inits discretion and upon a demonstration of hardship, may authorize any personconvicted of a violation of this section the use of a restricted permit tooperate a motor vehicle in accordance with the provisions of subsection D of 16.1-278.9 or subsection E of 18.2-271.1 or when referred to a localcommunity-based probation program established pursuant to Article 9 (9.1-173 et seq.) of Chapter 1 of Title 9.1. During the period of licensesuspension, the court may require a person issued a restricted permit underthe provisions of this subsection to be (i) monitored by an alcohol safetyaction program, or (ii) supervised by a local community-based probationprogram established pursuant to Article 9 ( 9.1-173 et seq.) of Chapter 1 ofTitle 9.1, if one has been established for the locality. The alcohol safetyaction program or local community-based probation program shall report to thecourt any violation of the terms of the restricted permit, the requiredalcohol safety action program monitoring or the local community-basedprobation and any condition related thereto or any failure to remainalcohol-free during the suspension period.

D. Any alcoholic beverage purchased or possessed in violation of this sectionshall be deemed contraband and forfeited to the Commonwealth in accordancewith 4.1-338.

E. Any retail licensee who in good faith promptly notifies the Board or anystate or local law-enforcement agency of a violation or suspected violationof this section shall be accorded immunity from an administrative penalty fora violation of 4.1-304.

F. When any person who has not previously been convicted of underagedconsumption, purchase or possession of alcoholic beverages in Virginia or anyother state or the United States is before the court, the court may, uponentry of a plea of guilty or not guilty, if the facts found by the courtwould justify a finding of guilt of a violation of subsection A, withoutentering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, deferfurther proceedings and place him on probation subject to appropriateconditions. Such conditions may include the imposition of the licensesuspension and restricted license provisions in subsection C. However, in allsuch deferred proceedings, the court shall require the accused to enter atreatment or education program or both, if available, that in the opinion ofthe court best suits the needs of the accused. If the accused is placed onlocal community-based probation, the program shall be located in any of thejudicial districts served by the community-based probation program or in anyjudicial district ordered by the court when the placement is with an alcoholsafety action program. The services shall be provided by (i) a programlicensed by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and SubstanceAbuse Services, (ii) certified by the Commission on VASAP, or (iii) by aprogram made available through a community-based probation programestablished pursuant to 9.1-174, if one has been established for thelocality. When an offender is ordered to enter a local community-basedprobation program rather than the alcohol safety action program, the localcommunity-based probation program shall be responsible for providing forservices or referring the offender to education or treatment services as acondition of probation.

Upon violation of a condition, the court may enter an adjudication of guiltand proceed as otherwise provided. Upon fulfillment of the conditions, thecourt shall discharge the person and dismiss the proceedings against himwithout an adjudication of guilt. A discharge and dismissal hereunder shallbe treated as a conviction for the purpose of applying this section in anysubsequent proceedings.

(Code 1950, 4-62; 1970, c. 686; 1974, c. 460; 1979, c. 537; 1981, c. 24;1982, c. 66; 1983, c. 608; 1985, c. 559; 1990, c. 771; 1993, c. 866; 1995, c.374; 1996, cc. 626, 730; 2000, c. 325; 2002, c. 338; 2003, cc. 845, 849;2004, cc. 322, 461; 2005, c. 895; 2006, c. 207.)