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So in English (har) if you get drunk at a bar and crash your car you can't sue the bar?
Right.
Could a law, or tort or something, get around the federal highway funding act by making underage drinking less of an offense, comparable to say, a parking ticket?
That's pretty much where it is in a lot of states -- remember when Jenna Bush got the citation for drinking in a bar in Austin? That was basically like a speeding ticket. She had to show up for a hearing, and I think there were some slap-on-the-wrist type punishments like alcohol education class or community service.
I don't know the wording of the federal appropriation, but it's entirely possible that the states could be very lenient and still stay within the letter of the federal grant. For example, when Congress wanted all states to lower the speed limit to 55, they did the same thing and conditioned highway funds on the change. Montana, where you can pretty safely curl up in the backseat of your car and take a nap if you have cruise control, didn't like this rule at all, but it wanted the highway money. So it set its statewide speed limit at 55, along with a law that the maximum fine for speeding between 55 and 75 was $5 per offense. It ain't the Autobahn, but people pretty much drive how they want to in Montana.
Ivy
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