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LEGAL DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM <br /> No. 88-55 <br /> December 1 , 1988 . <br /> T0: Gary K. Anderson, Mayor , <br /> James C. Bacon, Jr. , City Maf�ager <br /> , <br /> FROM: John W. Couter <br /> RE: ' Bottle Clubs <br /> Recently, the City has twice attempted to prosecute a local <br /> after-hours club for alleged violations of Section 18 of Chapter <br /> 52 of the City Code. This section makes it unlawful to permit <br /> the consumption or possession of alcoholic liquor after 2 :00 A.M. <br /> in any club or public place of amusement. Under Section 19 of <br /> Chapter 52, the offense must be done "knowingly" . In both cases, <br /> the club owner was found not guilty because he was able to <br /> convince the jury that even though the police found a great <br /> quantity of alcohol on the premises after 2 :00 A.M. , he himself <br /> had not known it was there and he had told everybody to remove it <br /> by 2 : 00 A.M. <br /> The burden of showing actual knowledge, and convincing a <br /> jury that the defendant had it, may render our current <br />�. after-hours restrictions unenforceable. If these two cases are <br /> any indication, and I think they are, all future defendants will <br /> claim the same lack of actual knowledge and allege the same good <br /> faith efforts to comply and the jury will find them not guilty. <br /> In order to get around the problem of actual knowledge, I <br /> recommend that Section 19 of Chapter 52 be amended to provide as <br /> follows : <br /> "19 . VIOLATION. No owner, possessor, manager, person <br /> in control or in charge of licensed premises , or of <br /> premises referred to in Section 18 of this Chapter, <br /> shall permit the violation on said premises of any <br /> provision of this Chapter. It shall not be a defense to <br /> a prosecution brought hereunder for a violation of , <br /> Section 18 of this Chapter that the defendant did nvt ' <br /> have actual knewledge that .alcoholic liquor was being <br /> consumed, possessed, stored, kept or otherwise <br /> maintained by patrons, guests, members or other <br /> individuals in violation of said Section 18 . " <br /> Under current state law, it is not a defense to a <br /> prosecution for a sale of alcoholic liquor to a minar that the <br /> defendant was not aware of the actual age of the minor -- if the <br />