2C:33-15 Underage Possession/Consumption Alcohol
a. Any person under the legal age to purchase
alcoholic beverages who knowingly possesses without legal authority or who
knowingly consumes any alcoholic beverage in any school, public conveyance,
public place, or place of public assembly, or motor vehicle, is guilty of a
disorderly persons offense, and shall be fined not less than $500.00.
b. Whenever this
offense is committed in a motor vehicle, the court shall, in addition to the
sentence authorized for the offense, suspend or postpone for six months the
driving privilege of the defendant. Upon the conviction of any person under
this section, the court shall forward a report to the Division of Motor
Vehicles stating the first and last day of the suspension or postponement
period imposed by the court pursuant to this section. If a person at the time
of the imposition of a sentence is less than 17 years of age, the period of
license postponement, including a suspension or postponement of the privilege
of operating a motorized bicycle, shall commence on the day the sentence is
imposed and shall run for a period of six months after the person reaches the
age of 17 years.
If a person at the time of the imposition of a sentence has a valid drivers
license issued by this State, the court shall immediately collect the license
and forward it to the division along with the report. If for any reason the
license cannot be collected, the court shall include in the report the complete
name, address, date of birth, eye color, and sex of the person as well as the
first and last date of the license suspension period imposed by the court.
The court shall inform the person orally and in writing that if the person
is convicted of operating a motor vehicle during the period of license
suspension or postponement, the person shall be subject to the penalties set
forth in R.S.39:3-40. A person shall be required to acknowledge receipt of the
written notice in writing. Failure to receive a written notice or failure to
acknowledge in writing the receipt of a written notice shall not be a defense
to a subsequent charge of a violation of R.S.39:3-40.
If the person convicted under this section is not a New Jersey resident,
the court shall suspend or postpone, as appropriate, the non-resident driving
privilege of the person based on the age of the person and submit to the
division the required report. The court shall not collect the license of a
non-resident convicted under this section. Upon receipt of a report by the
court, the division shall notify the appropriate officials in the licensing
jurisdiction of the suspension or postponement.
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Piscataway,
South Plainfield,
Edison,
Metuchen,
Woodbridge,
Perth Amboy,
Carteret,
Highland Park,
New Brunswick,
North Brunswick,
Milltown,
East Brunswick,
South River,
Sayreville,
South Amboy,
Old Bridge,
Spotswood,
South Brunswick,
Plainsboro,
Cranbury,
Monroe,
Jamesburg,
Monmouth, Union, Somerset,
Mercer, Ocean, Essex, Hunterdon, Burlington, county, NJ, New Jersey
