This last term marked a dramatic increase in the number of Dartmouth students arrested for possession of alcohol. This trend can be adequately measured not by calling the cryptic Hanover Police department, but by attempting to sign up for the end result of a students arrest, the Hanover Alcohol Diversion Program. An eight-hour program with a $150 price tag, it is designed as an option to clear an underage citizen's record.
A single phone call to the director, on any given date, will reveal that the program is booked for several upcoming months. That means if there are eight people for each biweekly program, for 2 months, then 32 individuals have recently been arrested. Now grant it, some of these individuals are non-Dartmouth students, but in just one session that I recently observed, six Dartmouth students were present due to summer arrests.
None of these Dartmouth students at the time of arrest were in possession of an alcoholic container. All were charged with possession by consumption, meaning that if you have alcohol in your system, then you have had "prior possession."
There are severe legal questions regarding this unique Hanover arrest policy, recently coined as "internal possession." New Hampshire law 179:10 states that any person under the age of 21 who is found in the possession of any liquor or alcoholic beverage shall be guilty of a violation.
It seems to me, that the Hanover police policy of arresting minors for having consumed alcohol, without having liquor or an alcoholic beverage in their possession, does not comply with the statute.
In N.H. 175:1, the state defines a beverage as "any alcohol meant for human consumption ... having an alcoholic content of not less than half of 1 percent by volume..."
From this definition then, it appears that unless you are in physical possession of an alcoholic beverage or container, you are not in possession of alcohol. For even if we accept the existence of human vampires, your blood alcohol content is ruled out as evidence of possession since even a lethal BAC of 0.3 percent is too weak a concentration to count as a beverage.
Furthermore, the Hanover policy seems to be in conflict with state legislative intent. An amendment to 179:10 that would include "possession and consumption" was overwhelmingly defeated during the 1992 legislative session. This is integral to any interpretation of the original statute. The '92 legislative defeat appears to give a clear signal to any court weighing policy with statute that "internal possession" should not stand.
Now many will say that discussion of the use of a breathalyzer or alcasensor is irrelevant since a person is not legally bound to submit to such a test, and that such tests are not submissable as evidence in court.
But for several subtle and powerful reasons this argument is very relevant. Students do not know their legal rights. Officers can present as reason for arrest your behavior and smell of alcohol on your breath. Whether the judge will accept this as sufficient evidence is unknown.
However, the alcasensor can be brought in as a form of intimidation. If an officer stops a student and informs the student that he is sending for an alcasensor test, then before the test arrives, when asked by the officer, the student is likely to admit to having "one or two beers."
Afterall, we know that when the alcasensor is taken, the proof will be "irrefutable" and we wouldn't want to be found lying to a police officer. Once the officer has the confession of guilt, it makes the case that much easier to prove in Hanover District Court.
Chief Giaccone admits that the "internal possession" policy has never been contested in higher court, and there is good reason. Students and others are offered a way out.
Without ever having to appear in court, the students can opt for the earlier discussed diversion program. Consequently, a money pipeline bypassing the formal legal process is constructed: Police keep arresting, the diversion program keeps collecting money and the whole affair is never tested in court.
Well, time is up for the pipeline. Things are starting to brew in Hanover other than beer. The ACLU, along with the regional and national media, have been alerted. Judging by recent news, it appears that a court challenge is imminent.
And in the end, it is all just another unfortunate scenario for Dartmouth as the media coverage only serves to perpetuate the school's alcohol stigma. Of course, that's another topic for another column.
