A New York tavern catches a break in a decision issued last Thursday.
The city went after the bar’s liquor license after a police officer witnessed a patron smoking a joint [read "marijuana cigarette"]. The administrative law judge revoked the license. But the Supreme Court of New York overturned that decision. Writing for the court, Judge Catterson stated, ”[w]e find that the evidence a police officer’s observation of one tavern patron smoking a marijuana cigarette on a single occasion cannot possibly constitute substantial evidence that the petitioner ‘suffered or permitted its premises to become disorderly’ within the meaning of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.”
The problem for the city? The adminsitrative record contained no evidence that management condoned the illegal act; quite the opposite, it showed the tavern had in place effective security polices. The supreme court even suggested that there were few “other safeguards that the [tavern] could have taken to prevent the act from occurring.” Maybe. Who knows.
I bet that the smoker was wearing jeans. He deserves recognition somewhere, but that “somewhere” is probably not in an ALJ order revoking a bar’s liquor license for his impromptu burn session.
Cary Wiggins on the Web