Underage Possession or Consumption of Alcohol in New Jersey

N.J.S.A. 2C:33-15 · Public Order & Disorderly Persons Offenses

What the law says

A person under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items may not knowingly possess without legal authority or knowingly consume an alcoholic beverage, cannabis item, marijuana, or hashish in a school, public conveyance, public place, place of public assembly, or motor vehicle. The section provides escalating written warnings and community-service referrals for violations.

Where this case is heard depends on how it's charged. We'll review your complaint and explain exactly which court you're in and what you face.

What the State must prove

To convict, the prosecutor must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-15, that means:

• The person was under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items.
• The person knowingly possessed, without legal authority, or knowingly consumed an alcoholic beverage, cannabis item, marijuana, or hashish.
• The possession or consumption occurred in a school, public conveyance, public place, place of public assembly, or motor vehicle.

Penalties in the statute

• For a first violation, a law enforcement officer issues the underage person a written warning. If the person is under 18, written notification concerning the violation is provided to the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody.
• For a second violation, a law enforcement officer issues the underage person a written warning indicating that a second violation occurred. For a person 18 or older, the officer provides informational materials about accessing community services; for a person under 18, written notification is provided to the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody, with the same or similar informational materials.
• For a third or subsequent violation, a law enforcement officer issues the underage person a write-up. For a person 18 or older, the officer includes a referral to community services and notifies the agency or organization; for a person under 18, written notification is provided to the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody, with a referral for the person and that parent, guardian, or other person.
• The referred agency or organization shall offer assistance with opportunities to access further social services, including counseling, tutoring programs, mentoring services, and faith-based or other community initiatives. Refusal or failure to accept or access assistance shall not result in a summons, complaint, or other legal action to be adjudicated and enforced in court.

Other rules that can matter

• A person under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items is not capable of giving lawful consent to a search to determine a violation, and an officer shall not request consent for that purpose. The odor of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or a cannabis item, including burnt substances, does not constitute reasonable articulable suspicion for an investigatory stop or probable cause for a search to determine a violation. Unconcealed possession observed in plain sight does not constitute probable cause to search the person or their personal property for a further violation of this subsection or any other violation of law.
• A person who violates the section for possessing or consuming an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or a cannabis item shall not be arrested, transported to a law-enforcement location, detained, or taken into custody at or near the location of the violation, except as necessary to issue a warning or write-up, collect information for required parent or guardian notification, or make a third-or-subsequent-violation referral, or where the person is also being arrested, detained, or taken into custody for another violation of law for which that action is legally permitted or required.
• The officer’s body-worn-camera video and audio recording functions must be activated during a responsive call or other law-enforcement or investigative encounter related to a violation or suspected violation, and remain activated until the encounter has fully concluded and the officer leaves the scene. A subject’s request to deactivate the camera does not permit deactivation under the specified provision.
• When issuing a warning or write-up, the officer shall take possession of the alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, cannabis item, and any drug or cannabis paraphernalia for use with marijuana, hashish, or a cannabis item. The sworn statement shall describe those items; they shall be destroyed or secured for law-enforcement training or educational programs in accordance with applicable law and Attorney General directives.
• A person under the legal age shall not be photographed or fingerprinted for a violation covered by this section. Specified violation records must be segregated, kept confidential, used only to determine subsequent violations or track referrals, and not considered in specified juvenile delinquency matters or prosecutions concerning adults under 21. The records are not subject to public inspection or copying, and their existence is not to be acknowledged in the same manner as expunged records. They must generally be destroyed or permanently deleted by the second anniversary of creation or by the person’s 21st birthday, whichever occurs sooner, subject to the stated request-based retention exception for a lawsuit, disciplinary complaint, or criminal prosecution; after final disposition of that matter, the record must be destroyed or permanently deleted.
• A law enforcement officer who violates the provisions addressing law-enforcement actions involving persons under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages or cannabis items is guilty of official deprivation of civil rights as set forth in section 3 of P.L.2021, c.25 (C.2C:30-6.1).
• The section does not apply to possession of alcoholic beverages while the person is performing employment under an employment permit issued by the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, working for a bona fide hotel or restaurant as provided by R.S.33:1-26, or actively preparing food while enrolled in a culinary arts or hotel management program at a county vocational school or post-secondary educational institution. It also does not apply to possession of cannabis items while the person is performing employment by a cannabis establishment, distributor, or delivery service as permitted by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.
• An underage person and one or two other persons are immune from prosecution under this section if an underage person calls 9-1-1 and reports that another underage person needs medical assistance due to alcohol, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis-item consumption; the caller and any others acting in concert provide their names to the dispatcher; the caller is the first to make the report; and the caller and any others acting in concert remain at the scene until assistance arrives and cooperate with medical-assistance and law-enforcement personnel. The underage person receiving medical assistance is also immune.

Common defense strategies

Every case turns on its facts, but defenses we often explore include:

• Free-speech and protected-conduct defenses
• Lack of the required purpose to harass, alarm, or annoy
• Witness and video evidence that undercuts the complaint
• Conditional dismissal (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13.1) for eligible first-time municipal court defendants

What to do right now

1. Don't discuss the facts with police, the alleged victim, or anyone on a jail phone or social media.
2. Write down everything you remember, including names, times, and locations.
3. Keep every document you received, such as the complaint, summons, and release conditions.
4. Follow all release and no-contact conditions exactly.
5. Call a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer before your first court date.

How we help

Edward G. Appel has defended New Jersey clients since 1988 in municipal and Superior Courts in all 21 counties. We review the discovery, look for weaknesses in the State's case, file motions where they're warranted, and push for dismissals, downgrades, or diversion before you face a trial. Call 856-856-2373 for a free, confidential consultation about your Underage Possession or Consumption of Alcohol charge.

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Disclaimer: This page is general information about New Jersey law, not legal advice, and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results don't guarantee a similar outcome.