Charter trial verdict expected May 18

Each of the offenses normally carries a sentence of up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine, but it is unlikely that any individual will serve time in jail if the club is found guilty.

The charges stem from two separate incidents in which Charter allegedly provided alcohol to underage students. These incidents were recounted in the first two days of the trial, on April 20 and April 30.

Rocco Cipparone, Charter’s attorney, argued in court on Monday that Borough prosecutor Ken Lozier had not proved his case “beyond reasonable doubt” or shown that Charter’s directors were “recklessly tolerating” or condoning underage drinking at the club.

Lozier countered, though, that testimony from witnesses clearly show that Charter regularly allows underage students in its taproom, where “alcohol is served at no cost” and “no one monitors anyone.”

In an interview after Monday’s court session, Cipparone said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the trial’s outcome, adding that he had anticipated Lozier’s closing arguments. Lozier declined to comment.

Earlier testimony

On the first day of the trial, Borough Police Patrol Officer Daniel Federico testified that he had received a call in April 2008 directing him to 79 Prospect Ave., Charter’s address, where he encountered David Freifeld ’11 sitting and visibly intoxicated on the sidewalk between the club and Prospect Avenue. Federico said he asked Freifeld where he was drinking, and Federico added Freifeld responded, “Right here.”

Freifeld testified that he could not recall whether he drank alcohol at Charter because he was already intoxicated when he arrived at the club, having drunk beer and vodka at a room party earlier that night.

But in a videotaped statement he made several months before the trial, Freifeld said he had probably played drinking games at the club, while he had no memory of doing so.

Freifeld is also a senior advertising manager for The Daily Princetonian.

On the second day of the trial, Kara Murphy ’09 and Kelsey Stallings ’09 each testified that she had consumed alcohol at Charter while underage in November 2007. Murphy said she drank four or five beers, while Stallings said she had two or three.

The Borough became aware of the underage drinking while investigating an altercation between Murphy and Paige Schmidt ’08 that began when Schmidt poured beer on Murphy and Stallings. After Murphy retaliated by hitting Schmidt, Schmidt called the police.

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Murphy and Stallings testified that they obtained beer not from bartenders but from wristband-wearing students whom they did not identify as club officers or members. They both also said that they were not approached by anyone about drinking without a wristband.

None of the three students who testified were charged with underage drinking.

Closing arguments

Regarding the 2008 incident, Cipparone emphasized that “[Freifeld’s] testimony was clear that he had no independent recollection whatsoever of the night in question.” He also argued that Freifeld’s videotaped testimony was “rife with difficulties” because the detective had led him to speculate about actions he could not remember. Finally, Cipparone explained that, when Freifeld told Federico he was drinking “right here,” he was on public — not club — property.

Lozier disputed these claims, however, noting that the videotaped testimony from Freifeld showed he had consumed alcohol in the club and that his response to Federico “certainly” did not imply that he was “drinking on the curb.” Lozier concluded that “the testimony is what it is,” though he conceded that the prosecution had a “much more difficult case” regarding this incident compared to the incident in 2007.

Murphy’s and Stallings’ testimonies was even stronger evidence of Charter’s misbehavior, Lozier said. He emphasized that Murphy “admitted to going up to the bar to get a beer” even though she did not obtain alcohol directly from a bartender.

Lozier then stressed that Charter’s leadership neglected its “affirmative responsibility to monitor what was going on” in the club. He also contended that “the M.O. of the club is: If you don’t have a bracelet, someone else is going to get [a drink] for you.”

Charter “created a condition which endangers the safety and health of people in the club and community,” Lozier concluded.

But Cipparone said Charter had sufficient safeguards in place to prevent underage drinking, including the wristband policy and a sign stating that people must be at least 21 years old to obtain alcohol. By getting drinks from older students, “Murphy and Stallings were circumventing the policy of the club because they knew the club had these policies,” he said.

Given these precautions, Cipparone concluded that “the club can’t be held liable for a student over 21 who provided beer to Ms. Murphy.”

Lozier also suggested that Murphy’s and Stallings’ testimonies may have been colored by their fear of getting classmates in trouble. “Their stories were adopted at this late date because these are their fellow students,” Lozier said. “[Murphy and Stallings] don’t want to get anyone in trouble. That’s clear.”

Yet Cipparone countered that Murphy had been forthright and readily admitted in an earlier interview with a Borough detective that she had consumed alcohol while underage. He also pointed out that there was no evidence that the students had lied in their testimonies and explained that the defendant, Charter, was a corporation.

The only courtroom observers at Monday’s court session were Carol Cronheim ’86, the chair of Charter’s Board of Governors, and former club president Michael Coolbaugh ’09. Both declined to comment.

Though the trial was scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m., Goldman pushed back the case until 11:55 a.m. to complete other proceedings scheduled for the court’s morning session.

Most of these cases concerned vehicle infractions or unpaid fines, but one case involved a 26-year-old man from New York who had charges of resisting arrest dropped in exchange for pleading guilty to shoplifting a candy bar from the Wawa on University Place.