E. Legal Requirements and Definitions

1. If any person shall take a drink of alcohol beverages or shall tender a drink thereof to another, whether accepted or not, at or in any public place, he shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.

Drinking in public generally is interpreted to mean consuming an alcoholic beverage in plain view from a public road.

Public place shall mean any place, building or conveyance to which the public has, or is permitted to have, access, including restaurants, soda fountains, hotel dining rooms, lobbies and corridors of hotels, and any highway, street, lane, park or place of public resort or amusement. Unless the public place is under license, no drinking is permitted there. (4.1-308)

2. No one may sell (or otherwise provide) any alcoholic beverages to anyone and at the time of such sale know or have reason to believe that the person to whom the sale is made is underage or intoxicated.

Underage persons for beer, wine, liquor, or any other alcoholic beverage are those less than twenty-one years of age. Violation of this law is a misdemeanor, punishable, among other things, by a fine of up to $2500 and up to one year in jail. (4.1-304)

3. If any underage person purchases or possesses any alcoholic beverage, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

If convicted, in addition to the usual penalties, such person's license to operate a motor vehicle in Virginia may be suspended for a period of not more than one year. Under these circumstances, the alcoholic beverage will be confiscated. (4.1-305)

4. If any person purchases any alcoholic beverage for another person and at the time of such purchase knows or has reason to believe that the person for whom such beverage was purchased is underage, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (4.1 - 306)

5. Any underage person who knowingly uses or attempts to use a forged, deceptive or otherwise nongenuine driver's license to obtain alcoholic beverages shall have his driver's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle revoked for a period of not less than thirty days or more than one year. (46.2-347) Any Hampden-Sydney student who falsifies documents or uses a non-valid, fake, altered or forged ID card or similar item of identification will be charged with a violation of the Honor Code.

6. Drinking while operating a motor vehicle: It is unlawful for any person to consume an alcoholic beverage while driving a motor vehicle. (Class 4 misdemeanor, 18.2-323.1)