Underage Drinkers Busted at Nightclub Appear in Court

College Students Face Judge in Underage Drinking Sting

Over 100 students from both the University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University made their first appearances in court this week, following the bust of a local nightclub just days earlier where they were found to be drinking underage.

About half of the 113 students caught showed up in court Monday, where they had the opportunity to plead their innocence, or simply take the judge's punishment. Hartford Community Court's judge has created a new program where violators of the state's underage drinking policy take education classes to learn about the many dangers of substance abuse, rather than forcing them to do community service or pay a fine.

"This is intended as an educational device," the judge told the court. "It's instructional, not punitive. This is restorative justice; we're more concerned about repair than punitive action."