Social Host Ordinance

Santa Barbara County is moving forward with an ordinance designed to "crackdown" and "get tough" on underage drinking and binge drinking. Of course the neo-prohibitionists among us see nothing wrong with giving the police more tools to attack the problem; and, indeed, there is little if any social utility produced by people under 18 getting trashed. However, I can't recall ever hearing a police officer say, "you know, I'm just powerless to stop underage drinking". Having been in the the thick of court cases surrounding this topic for many years, I can tell you that the Fourth Amendment plays a minimal role in deterring overly aggressive conduct of law enforcement agents. In Isla Vista, for example, there are many instances of police entering parties where they were not invited, and making arrests, issuing cites, seizing kegs, dumping out bottles of booze, and sending the invited guests on their way. It is plain that social ordinances are desired because they would allow police officers to enter any dwelling where a party is taking place where they reasonably suspect a minor is present without a warrant.

Never Drink (and Drive) and Dial!

Common sense has it that driving with a cell phone pressed to your ear is a dangerous activity. At last Senate Bills 1613 and 33 have arrived. Well, almost. As of July 1, 2008, you MUST either abstain from cell phone use while driving (gasp!) or contribute to the soaring profits of the makers of Bluetooth compatible devices. And, if you are under 18, you must refrain from cell phone use, while driving, altogether. However, driving while working to establish and maintain a link between your Bluetooth device and your cell phone, which is more of a distraction than holding the phone to your ear after pressing the speed dial button, is still legal (if not encouraged) by these new laws. Let's hope that this predictable, "Oops! I forgot to locate and activate my Bluetooth device" sensation (which I have already experienced a number of times while driving), does not result in more accidents. The best idea, of course, is to pull over and figure this out. This remains so in spite of the enduring legality of the act of hunting through your car's center console in order fidget with little buttons while driving.

I will here issue my final warning that this new law is going cause many traffic stops. After all, this is one of the easiest law violations for the police to identify and I predict that it will cause a surge in the number of traffic stops and the myriad arrests that flow from them (such as DUI's, Driving without license, etc.)