Delta Delta Delta sorority pleaded no contest yesterday to two felony counts of serving alcohol to a minor and was sentenced to a $5,000 fine, $4,000 of which will be deferred for two years, and 500 hours of community service.
Tri-Delta entered a "nolo contendere" plea at Grafton County Superior Court to charges stemming from an incident last spring, said Tri-Delta President Jessica Duda '96.
When a defendant enters a plea of no contest, or "nolo contendere," it means he or she is not admitting guilt but is stating they will offer no defense.
The defendant is then subject to being judged guilty and punished as if he or she had pleaded guilty or had been convicted.
No individuals were charged with any crime. Duda attended the hearing as a representative of the house, which was charged as a corporate entity.
Duda said the house could have received a maximum punishment of $100,000. But she said the sorority knew in advance the punishment it would receive would not be very harsh.
Duda said the $1,000 fine was paid from house funds.
The sentence was arranged prior to the house's appearance in court, Duda said.
"This was our first court appearance relating to the incident," Duda said. "The agreement was made out of court between the defense and the prosecution."
After the two years have elapsed and the community service is completed, the house can petition the court to drop the rest of the fine, assuming the sorority has no more legal problems, Duda said.
In exchange for the deferral of the bulk of the fine, Tri-Delta agreed to perform 500 hours of community service within the two-year period.
"The community service won't be a problem for us because we are very philanthropically involved," Duda said. "I definitely think it was a fair agreement."
The practice of deferring fines in such a manner is a common one, she said.
The other option the house had was a jury trial, but Duda said the house made a collective decision not to have one.
"We didn't want to put either the individuals involved or the social chairs through" a jury trial, she said.
The charges stem from an incident May 1, when the house's "Date-A-Delta" party ended after Meredith Scott '96 was arrested by Hanover Police and Heidi Taylor '96 was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and treated for alcohol intoxication. Both were under 21.
The College did not penalize the sorority for the incident. Duda said the house has learned from the incident
"The whole incident has brought the house together as a whole," Duda said. "We've had alcohol education programs and have a new officer, a 'Risk Manager.'"
