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After working with the State’s Attorney’s office, I have gained some valuable insight into certain statues and laws. One that is especially relevant to Penn State are what happens if you are cited for underage drinking.

While it may seem that underage drinking is a common occurrence in a college town, it is still a violation of the law that carries some serious consequences. Under 18 Pa C.S.A. § 6308(a), anyone under 21 years old who is caught drinking, transporting, or is in possession of an alcoholic beverage has committed a Summary level offense.

A Summary level offense is the most minor level offense, followed by misdemeanor, and felony, which is the most serious offense. If you are charged with an Underage Drinking Summary offense, the officer will write you a citation, or a ticket, with a date for you to appear in court. There is typically a fine and court costs that come with this as well. The fine will not exceed $300, but the official amount will be determined by the judge. Additionally, your driver’s license will be suspended for 90 days.

Even if the judge rules to drop the charges in exchange for community service, which is an option, there will still be a record of your citation available on public record. In order to remove this, you will need to request an attorney to go through the expungement process, which takes about a year from start to finish. However, once the records are expunged (i.e. the process is complete), the record of the citation will be erased.

It is an interesting law that poses serious consequences, but none too serious that a defendant is unable to recover, or has serious setbacks trying to get a job after the citation.