Opinion ID: 186650
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Jane Does (I, II, III and IV)

Text: 17 The arrest of the four Jane Does under the 2001 law is another matter. That law, unlike the one governing John Doe's arrest in 2000, plainly establishes the underage possession and/or consumption of alcohol as a civil offense. In the 2001 version, the Council amended the civil fines provision to provide that any person who violates subsection (a)  shall  be subject to the following civil penalties as an alternative to the misdemeanor penalty imposed for false representation of one's age. § 25-1002(e)(1) (emphases added). The change removed any ambiguity regarding whether a violation of subsection (a) — the underage possession and/or consumption provision — constituted an offense to which the misdemeanor penalty included in subsection (c) for misrepresenting one's age could apply. The plain language of the 2001 law manifested that it could not; application of the alternative misdemeanor sanction to a violation of subsection (a) was not permitted as it could have been under the 1997 law. 18 The four Jane Does, as alleged violators of subsection (a) — but not (c) — of the 2001 law, were subject to the civil penalties of subsection (e) and the additional revocation of driving privileges penalty of subsection (d). The newly-added subsection (e)(2) also supports the facially civil nature of the underage possession and consumption prohibition by providing that officers of the Metropolitan Police Department may enforce the provisions of this subsection by issuing a notice of civil infraction for a violation of subsections (a) or (b) of this section. § 25-1002(e)(2) (emphasis added). Subsequent interpretations by the D.C. Superior Court, while too late to give notice to the MPD of the civil nature of a violation of subsection (a) at the time the four Jane Does were arrested in 2003, also support our conclusion. See, e.g., District of Columbia v. Kaplan, Crim. No. D-1042-03, at 6-7 (D.C.Super.Ct. Dec. 24, 2003); District of Columbia v. Rothkoff, No. D-1896-01, at 5-7 (D.C.Super.Ct. Nov. 7, 2003). 19 Because the four Jane Does were arrested for a civil offense, their claims state a cause of action under the Fourth Amendment. The district court's dismissal of their complaint is therefore reversed and their case is remanded for further proceedings. 19