ID Scanner Affirmative Defense Legislation
As of January 2010, ten states have Affirmative Defense laws on the books. This means if a merchant is able to avoid fines or tickets for serving a minor with a fake ID if they use an ID Scanner and follow some common sense procedures like making sure the person matches the photo on the ID, the ID does not look altered, the person does not look underage, and other steps normally performed when checking IDs.
Here is a more formal definition of Affirmative Defense, but we are not lawyers so no claim is made of its accuracy.
An affirmative defense exonerates a defendant of a charge, even if the defendant is basically guilty. One basically admits to breaking the law but a claim is made that a reasonable person would not know it at the time and all reasonable precautions were taken to ensure one did not break the law. This is where the ID Scanner’s function of checking the ID and recording the data come into play. The data in memory allow the merchant to prove that they were doing their what they believed to be adequate when checking the ID.
In Furnishing Alcohol to Minors, some States allow an affirmative defense for sellers/licensees when the minor has not been charged with an offense. In these States, an accused seller or licensee can defend by establishing that the minor was not charged. This type of affirmative defense arises out of legal concepts related to “fairness” or equity.
Note: You need to check the Affirmative Defense laws in each state as using an ID Scanner is only one of the requirements in claiming this defense.