Alcohol-sales cases overturned

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 9:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has issued a ruling that may make it tougher to convict retailers of selling liquor to a minor.

Prosecutors must prove that the alcohol seller "had actual or constructive knowledge of a purchaser's age in order to sustain a conviction," the court ruled.

The decision overturns the misdemeanor convictions of five people in Pershing County in northwestern Nevada who were caught in a sting by the local sheriff's office.

Jim Shirley, deputy district attorney for Pershing County, said it will make it a little harder to get such convictions in the future.

"It will be interesting in how we have to prove this," he said.

Senior Deputy Attorney General John Albrecht, who supervises the state's sting operations for underage tobacco sales, said the decision won't stop that operation. He said the tobacco law is worded differently than the one on alcohol sales to minors.

In an effort to crack down on the sale of liquor to minors, the Pershing County sheriff's office used 20-year-old John Christensen in the May 2000 sting. In all of the businesses, the clerk did not ask for identification, and each said Christensen appeared to be between 24 and 27 years old.

Christensen was wearing a hat and a beard when he bought the alcohol. Members of the sheriff's office acknowledged he looked older than 21.

A sheriff's deputy testifying at each of the trials said he believed the law required checking identification before an alcohol sale. He said there was no evidence that any of the petitioners knew Christensen was under 21 years old.

The courts convicted the five, concluding they had violated the law by failing to check identification.

The Supreme Court said the law does not require asking for identification before selling alcohol. The testimony at trial, it ruled, indicated Christensen was selected "because he appeared older than 21 and all of the petitioners (sellers) testified he looked 24 to 27 years old."

The justices said the courts based the convictions on their belief that the law did not require knowledge of age and that checking identification was required.

"We conclude that the incorrect standard was used and sufficient evidence does not support the convictions," the unanimous decision said.

The court overturned the convictions of Brandee Garcia, Misty Noel Herrera, Pam Munk, Donald Stephens and Darrell Carden. The sales took place at gas stations or bars in Lovelock.