State will fight suit over keg restrictions - Ohio's five-keg rule allowing police searches

Modern Brewery Age, Oct 14, 2002

AP--Ohio state officials are fighting to keep a beer-buying restriction allowing police searches at large parties, despite acknowledging it's never been enforced.

A lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's "five-keg rule," aimed mostly at college campuses, is scheduled to go to trial this fall after a federal judge expressed concerns about the rule's constitutionality. The rule says anyone buying more than four beer kegs at a time must sign an affidavit allowing police to search the site where it's to be served No such searches have been made, state officials said.

"This is a law passed for show," said Scott Hooper, the lead plaintiff in the suit. "It cannot be enforced and it cannot make any difference."

The affidavit must list the host's name and the date and location where the kegs will be used. The buyer must sign the affidavit, including the search clause, at least five days before the event. The policy was added in 2000, mostly in response to out-of-control parties near Ohio State University and other colleges.

"It makes us aware of situations such as large campus parties that can get out of hand," said Julie Ehrhart, spokeswoman for the Ohio Public Safety Department. "It allows us to have people in place."

About 15 states and the District of Columbia have registration rules for keg sales, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Raymond Vasvari, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said the lack of searches under the five-keg rule indicates the restriction is politically motivated.

"It is an attempt to look tough while not doing anything at all," he said.

Hooper, a neurobiology professor at Ohio University, said he volunteered to lead the lawsuit because he heard the state ACLU chapter was looking for someone to challenge the rule. "I don't typically have five-keg parties at 46 years old," he said.

Hooper went to a beer distributor on April 27, 2001, to buy five kegs for a party he planned. When faced with the search provision, he walked away and later sued.

Last month, U.S. District Judge George Smith refused the state's request to dismiss the suit. "The court recognizes the need to curb underage drinking and diminish its often ruinous effects," Smith wrote. "The state, however, may not sacrifice individual constitutional freedoms in combating the problems of underage drinking."

Smith's ruling noted that the rule doesn't prevent someone from buying four kegs at a time, then returning for more.

Mark Anderson, executive director of the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, and other state officials will meet soon with state attorney general's office staff to determine how to proceed.

Ed Duvall, deputy director of the Public Safety Department's investigative unit, compared the affidavit with the health warning on cigarette packs.

About 300 keg buyers have signed waivers since the rule took effect, Duvall said.