Prom legal mistakes could hurt
A shot of alcohol or a hit off a marijuana cigarette may seem, to some, like a harmless way to accent prom night, but it can have legal repercussions for years and even decades.
That was part of the message delivered Thursday to some 1,200 juniors and seniors at St. Charles East High School by two alums — Susan Clancy Boles and Clint Hull.
Boles and Hull now serve as Kane County judges and they warned students that seemingly innocuous decisions could cost students time, money, opportunities and even their freedom.
“You’ve heard the term ‘preventive medicine.’ This is our version of preventive law,” said Boles, who graduated from St. Charles East in 1982.
The program, “7 Reasons to Leave the Party,” was sponsored by the Illinois Judges Association.
Get arrested and it can go on your criminal record, even if you’re younger than 18, the judges told students.
Other reasons to leave include possible loss of trust, time, privacy (by having to take court-ordered drug tests), legal fees and fines, loss of driving privileges and even death.
The judges addressed the pitfalls of pre- and post-prom, which for St. Charles East is May 14.
An 18-year-old who has sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend could be charged with criminal sexual abuse and have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
If a drink or drugs are within arm’s reach, a person is considered in possession of it, even if the contraband doesn’t belong to them, the judges said.
Get caught with a drink and a student could get thrown off a school sports team, fined, be sentenced to community service and have his or her driver’s license suspended for a year.
Hull and Boles told the attendees how arrests could hurt them for years to come. Employers and colleges prefer applicants with clean records.
During their discussion, the judges shocked the audience when they showed a video of a horribly disfigured 23-year-old from Texas who was hit by a drunken driver, and a woman whose appearance turned hideous from four years of using crystal methamphetamines.
“Look at the picture and ask yourself, ‘Do you really want to take that chance?,’ ” said Hull, a 1985 graduate.
St. Charles East Assistant Principal Bob Abraham said this was the first year the school utilized the “7 Reasons” program. Last year, officials held a simulated crash on campus to help educate juniors and seniors.
“They’re both powerful in different ways,” he said.
“It gets their attention and makes them think about making good decisions.”