A D.C. law firm has initiated litigation against the city on behalf of underage drinkers, arguing that legal precedent relegates underage drinking to a civil offense. The firm – representing several students – attempts to argue that a 1997 law reducing the penalties for underage drinking applies to the plaintiffs regardless of the fact that it expired in 2002. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in this case could substantially impact the District’s college students.

Regardless of the outcome, it is integrally important to challenge the logic buttressing the District’s current crackdown on underage drinking. The crackdown – precipitated by the District’s receiving a $1 million grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention this summer – has caused Metropolitan Police to divert manpower resources from other important issues affecting the city. Given that D.C. still ranks among the nation’s leaders in murder rate and other violent crimes, it is suspect that MPD would elect to focus on such a seemingly insignificant issue as underage drinking.

Reducing underage drinking to a civil offense represents an intriguing solution to a serious problem. Underage drinking will be a reality regardless of which laws are on the books, and it is a shame to waste so much time, effort and money on a relatively minor offense. Diverting manpower resources away from lawbreakers like 20-year-old students out on a Saturday night and toward more violent offenders could do wonders for many of the District’s more serious crime issues. The court should use this case as an opportunity to reapply the original 1997 law and once again consider underage drinking a civil offense.