The Iowa City Fact Sheet on Citations for Alcohol

Facts in Iowa City
You will be issued a ticket stating the amount of the fine and assigned a court date. If convicted these alcohol violations will remain a part of your local permanent record and could impact your future employment opportunities.You do not need to be drinking to get a citation. Mere possession or having alcohol in your reach is a violation and you will be charged with possession of alcohol under the legal age.

Possession of a Fake ID
Simple Misdemeanor - Fine $147.00 (if used to buy alcohol)

Possession of another person's ID
Simple Misdemeanor - Fine $114.50. You and the owner of the ID can lose your licenses for SIX months in Iowa and ONE year in Illinois (if used to buy alcohol).

Providing alcohol to someone underage
Serious Misdemeanor - Fine $250-$1,500 and you will be arrested and taken to jail.

Possession of alcohol under the legal age: PAULA
1st Offense: Misdemeanor - Fine $200
2nd Offense: Serious Misdemeanor - Fine $500, required to attend Substance Abuse treatment and have your driver's license suspended for one year.

Public Intoxication
1st Offense: Misdemeanor - fines vary from $50-$500; you will be arrested and taken to jail.
2nd Offense: Fine; Violation may lead to a separation from the University for one semester.

A Prosecutor's Advice Regarding Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) by Assistant Johnson County Attorney, Adam Pollack
"You will be caught: If not tonight, eventually. It's simple law of probability. You are going to spend the night in jail. For your first offense, if you refuse the breath test, your license is going to be revoked for one year. If you take the test and are over the legal limit of .08, your license will be revoked for six months. If you are caught driving while revoked, you will be arrested and taken to jail. A driving while revoked charge carries a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, making it a most expensive drive, and you'll have to endure an additional license revocation period. It gets worse each time you are caught."

Driving Under the Influence
Serious Misdemeanor - Fine $1,000 plus 2 days in jail. You will be arrested and taken to jail and your license could be suspended from 6 months to 2 years. Refusing the breath test generally disqualifies you for a deferred judgement.

.02 Revocation
Under 21 years of age and driving a vehicle with a blood-alcohol level over .02 but under .08 will result in your license being suspended.
1st Offense: 60 days
2nd Offense: 90 days for the second and subsequent offenses.

Under 19 years of age
If in a bar after 10:00 PM will result in a fine of $250 plus cost, which will equal a total of $342.

Please realize that each offense you are cited for will be combined and your fines will increase.

Something to think about

  • Everyone knows that the legal drinking age is 21 in Iowa. The fact is many knowingly break the law. In 2004-2005 a total of 780 citations were issued for PAULA (Possession of Alcohol Under the Legal Age).
  • Iowa City officers carry with them a small device called PBT (Preliminary Breath Test) which measures the amount of alcohol, if any, in your blood.
  • The police department frequently encounters intoxicated individuals or receives complaints regarding intoxicated persons. In 2003-2004, 376 students were arrested for Public Intoxication.  In 2004-2005, the number rose to 424 students receiving a citation for being intoxicated in public.  Many of these arrests occurred after officers found those persons fighting, damaging property, or acting in a manner which was unsafe for themselves or others.

Visit the Iowa City Police Department's web site, www.icgov.org/police for more information

Some statistics
We are concerned about underage and high risk drinking because people who drink too much may hurt other people. A survey conducted by Harvard School of Public Health revealed how students are affected by another student's drinking.

65% had sleep or study interrupted
69% had to take care of an intoxicated student
38% had been insulted or humiliated
32% had experience an unwanted sexual contact
37% had a serious argument
24% had property damaged
17% had been pushed, hit or assaulted

Of course, people who drink too much cause problems for themselves, too. Frequent high risk drinkers were 21 times more likely than non-high risk drinkers to miss class, fall behind in school, damage property, become hurt or injured, engage in unplanned sexual activity, get in trouble with the police, or drive after drinking.

Excessive drinking continues to be a serious health and safety problem on most campuses. Drinking to get drunk is part of the culture that needs change. Choosing to drink alcohol or to abstain is a personal decision. If a person learns to drink moderately and safely, drinking does not have to be high risk. However, there are times when abstaining from alcohol use is the most appropriate decision for everyone to make, especially if you are under 21. If you need help controlling your drinking or would like further information on the effects of alchohol, you may contact Health Iowa.

Ending thoughts
Your time at the University of Iowa should be filled with meeting new people and enjoying new experiences along with receiving an education. Remember that the decisions you make while you are at The University of Iowa will affect the rest of your life. A ticket for possession of alcohol or an arrest resulting from consuming alcohol is more than just a fine or a night in jail. Don't let drinking decisions affect your educational goals and future employment opportunities.

Respect yourself, your community, and the law. The Iowa City Police Department and The University of Iowa Police take alcohol violations seriously in order to protect you, your fellow students, and our entire community.