The Tabard coed fraternity's two charges of serving alcohol to underage individuals were dropped to Class B misdeamoners following a plea bargain after the organization pleaded no contest in the Lebanon District Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Tabard paid a fine of $2,000 for each charge and must complete 500 hours of community service over the next two years as a part of the agreement made with police prosecutor Christopher O'Conner, Tabard summer president Emily Liu '12 said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Liu and attorney Tim Clark represented the organization at the hearing.
The organizations's plea of "no contest" indicates that the defendent will not challenge or claim guilt for the charge.
The no contest plea was "not an admission of guilt, it was simply a resolution," Clark said in an interview.
Tabard was charged after a 20-year old Dartmouth student was arrested for alcohol possession after allegedly drinking at the Tabard's physical plant on May 27. Tabard had already received a warning for Hanover Police for an April incident of serving alcohol to minors, as did five other Greek organizations, The Dartmouth previously reported. Tabard faced charges for both incidents on Wednesday.
The warnings to the six Greek organizations followed Hanover Police's February announcement of its plan to conduct "compliance checks" at the organization's physical plants. The police postponed the policy indefinitely in March after receiving heavy student criticism for it.
Because a Greek organization can be charged as a corporation, the charges of providing alcohol to underage individuals could have resulted in fines of up to $100,000 under New Hampshire law.
"I'm ecstatic," Liu said. "It could have been a whole lot worse. We're glad to have the chance to try again."
Other stipulations of the plea bargain include full compliance with the College's alcohol policies, Clark said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Tabard has already identified "several local agencies to perform community service for," Clark said in the hearing.
The sentencing order was modeled after a plea agreement implemented "three or four" years ago when Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority faced similar charges, Clark said in an interview. Clark's firm -- DesMeules Olmstead & Ostler -- represented Kappa during those negotiations, according to Clark.
