Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Colorado

Re: Minors/Alcohol

There are no legal penalties when, as it sounds like here, kids party in a private home when their folks are away, and the police have no reason to be aware of it.

Yes, it is illegal for someone under 21 to drink alcohol at a private party, absent parental consent. Yes, it is illegal to provide alcohol to a minor, again unless you are that minor's parent or guardian.

Is it worth having charges brought up? In my opinion it is worth the parents talking to the kids involved, laying down the (private) law, and coming up with some (private) consequence to express disappointment in their judgment.

In my opinion it is NOT worth it to ask the government to punish these kids for a crime whose chief result may have been a headache, when that same government may ask these same kids to lay down their lives in Iraq or some other foreign land of political opportunity.

Another attorney may disagree.

Good luck with your dilemma.